


lowlife

by saintsansa



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Teen Angst, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:01:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 33,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25496494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintsansa/pseuds/saintsansa
Summary: ❝ 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐁𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐌𝐁, 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐀 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇. ❞[steve harrington x oc][season 1-3][k.h.]
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. hopeless romantic

ALL SHE COULD THINK ABOUT WERE HIS EYES. After many years spent looking into those soft eyes, it was no wonder she had managed to harbor a crush that seemed to grow by the day. Her best friend was the worst and best thing that had ever happened to her.

The purple sparkly notebook on her desk had 'Jennifer Harrington' encased in a heart written nearly a hundred times from her cringe-inducing freshman year of high school. As the boy plopped down onto her bed, she quickly shut the notebook and turned her attention back to her notes. He groaned loudly to grab her attention. "God, you need better records."

The girl scoffed at him, rolling her eyes. "They're better than any of yours." The grip on her blue ink pen tightened as she scanned over her AP literature notes. Bullet points pertaining to Shakespeare and Hamlet littered the lined pages in neat, cursive handwriting.

"Half of yours are mine!" He exclaimed, throwing his arm in the air before dropping it down onto his chest. Jenny threw her spare pen at him to shut him up. The two teenagers fell into a silence as Jenny attempted to focus on her homework. Her eyes kept darting back to the boy on her bed who hummed along with The Who and drummed his hands on his stomach. A goofy smile spread on her face as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. "Are you almost done?" He asked impatiently after a few silent moments.

"Why do you want me to be done so soon?"

"Because I want my best friend to hang out with me instead of me watching her do her homework."

With a deep sigh, she set her pen down onto her notebook and twisted in her chair to face him. "Fine, I'll take a break." Affection danced in her eyes as she watched him leap from the bed.

His hands reached out to grip hers tightly and pull Jenny off of the blue plastic chair. "Jennifer Sue Henderson, I am going to show you the world tonight." The large, ecstatic smile on his face grew wider as he pulled her out of her bedroom.

As the two jogged out of the room towards the front door, a squeaky voice quickly stopped them. "Where are you two kids going?" The Henderson matriarch rounded the corner of the kitchen holding their beloved cat Mews in her arms.

The two teenagers shared hesitant glances. "She forgot her textbook in the library. We're hoping it's still there." Steve answered before Jenny could even think of a response.

Her mother, in her blissful ignorance, gave a sad smile. "Aww, I hope it's there. Maybe you could take Dusty."

Her brother, Dustin, quickly poked his head out of his bedroom door. Both of the siblings responded. "No!" A smirk grew on Steve's face as he watched the two plead with their mother. "Uh... Ms. Henderson? Jenny and I really have to get going."

Her mother's eyes widened before she stood up from her chair. "Oh! Of course! I love you, baby." The woman's long arms wrapped around Jenny and pulled her into a tight, protective, and loving hug. "Be careful!"

With that, the two teenagers quickly left the house. The brunette ran a hand through her long hair. Her slim fingers roughly yanked out tangles in her hair. As Steve floored the gas pedal, a large, excited smile spread on Jenny's face. She slid in her favorite Led Zeppelin cassette tape, cheering as the song 'Rock and Roll' began blaring.

The boy driving laughed as he watched his beloved passenger sang loudly along with the rock song. The smile plastered on his face seemed to grow as he watched her play her air drums. In that moment, he felt more than lucky to have a friend like Jennifer Henderson.

Once they arrived at the movie theater, she turned to her best friend with a confused expression. "What is this?"

"You and I are going to be seeing Cujo." A smirk played on his lips as an excited expression formed on her soft features. Between his fingers were the tickets for the midnight showing of Cujo. "I know you wanted to see it and I saw that there were only a few more tickets left so I got us a couple."

Before any other words could leave his mouth, her slender arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she jumped into his arms. "You big-nosed idiot, I love you so much!" Her laugh sounded like church bells in his ear.

His arms wrapped strongly around her waist, picking her up in the air. The two best friends stayed in each other's arms for another few seconds before quickly pulling away. A light blush was plastered on Jenny's cheeks. "Let's uh... Let's go see that movie." She managed to stutter out.

"Yeah, let's."

\---

THERE WAS A SMALL STRING LOOSE ON HER PRETTY BLUE BLOUSE. As her fingers picked at it relentlessly, it slowly began to unravel on her sleeve. It put a small smirk on her baby pink lips. Maybe it was the idea that the one string could stand for a euphemism towards her love life - slowly unraveling until it no longer existed - or maybe it was because it was one of her favorite blouses and life had a funny way of taking things from her, little by little, string by string.

She had enjoyed the movie. Well, she had enjoyed the movie as much as she could with his Ralph Lauren Polo cologne that seemed to make its home temporarily in her nose. Even as the rabid dog terrorized a mother and her son, Jenny could only bring her mind to focus on this one boy. She felt ridiculous, really. She felt like one of those housewives she always scoffed and rolled her eyes at for fawning over their husband and letting him boss her around; but she knew that if Steve had asked her to jump, her reply would be, "how high?"

If she could pretend like nothing was there, that there was nothing special about Steve Harrington, she would in an instant. It would be much easier to pretend that he meant nothing to her and that everything they did was platonic. He would occasionally call her 'babe' and she would have to pretend that it didn't affect her the way it did; she had to pretend she didn't get a tingle along her spine at the simple word.

But the string, the string felt symbolic to her. It was more than just a string. To her, it was the worst thing to happen to her. Was she exaggerating? Probably. But that didn't matter to her at this moment. What mattered to her was the sensation she felt every time his fingers accidentally scraped against her bare arm, or whenever his knee would accidentally bump against hers. The little things she felt when she was with him were the only things that mattered.

"What'd you think?" His voice filled her ears like the sound of bumblebees on a summer day. Her body stiffened with anxiety even knowing there was no imminent danger. He was her best friend, she should feel comfortable with him - and she was, to an extent, but it felt like their little window of comfort was slowly closing up with each passing day. Perhaps Nancy was to blame for that. Ever since he had started seeing the Wheeler girl, the two friends had been on thin ice and it seemed warmer days were ahead. "Jen? You asleep with your eyes open or something?"

"I should get home." There was a hint of hesitance in her voice. She was reluctant to leave the company of her best friend, but it needed to happen. Who knows what she might do or say if the two stayed close like this. "Mom's worries about me."

"What, did you not like the movie?" The concern in his voice was endearing for her, but it was too much to bear. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to watch the hopeless Harrington boy fall in love with America's sweetheart, Nancy Wheeler. As Carol had said many times, Nancy was Little Ms. Perfect and nothing would change that. "I'm sorry if you didn't like it. I just thought, since it's one of your favorite King books-"

"The movie was fine." Jenny shrugged her shoulders. It felt like she was looking down on herself, desperately wanting herself to stop trying to put distance between the two. But the more he talked, the more she just wanted to kiss him or hug him or just be with him and call him hers. That was a pipe dream for her. "I just don't want to get in trouble."

"Aw, c'mon, Jen," he chuckled and slung his arm around her shoulders as the teenagers made their way out of the theater, "your mom couldn't ground you if she wanted to. I mean, look at you. No one could ever stay mad at a face like yours." Using his index finger, he pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and gave her a soft wink. "I know I never could."

Gripping her popcorn bag with the strength of Hercules, Jenny tried to let the compliment roll off of her back. Was he calling her cute? Maybe he was just joking with her. "Thanks for the movie, Steve."

"Anything for my girl."


	2. second hand news

STEVE LEANED AGAINST HER LOCKER, WAITING OH, SO PATIENTLY FOR HIS BEST FRIEND, JENNIFER HENDERSON. The inside of her locker was the most accurate representation of her personality. There was a small Star Wars poster on the inside; pictures of Harrison Ford, Elvis Presley, and Paul McCartney were scattered all over the locker. The one picture that stood out was a very young version of herself and Steve from their 8th grade dance; she wore a pale blue puffy dress that was obviously chosen by her mother and he was in a suit that was on clearance at the local Macy's. A small smile spread on his face as he stared at the picture.

"Why are you in my locker, you creep?"

Steve whipped around, smiling widely at the brunette girl with a raised eyebrow. "And how was your day?" His long legs stepped to the right, letting Jenny get to her locker.

"It was fine. At this point, I just want to go home." Jenny tossed her books into the locker before slamming it shut and running a hand through her hair. "I just hope Dustin doesn't stay too long for AV club." Her slim hand gripped the leather strap of her book bag loosely as she leaned her body against the blue lockers. Dark circles began to form under her eyes from her lack of sleep the previous night. Gently pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Jenny rubbed at her temple to fight the oncoming headache.

"He can ride home on his bike. Come hang out with me and Nance."

"I'm not leaving my brother for any boy; especially not Steve Harrington." Her smirk widened as he feigned shock. "And I definitely don't want to be the third wheel to your lovefest with Little Miss Perfect." Her cherry red nails began absentmindedly picking at the paint on her locker. All she felt when she looked at Steve Harrington was the crush she had been harboring on him since - what felt like - the dawn of time. It was like the two were meant to be friends, yet forbidden to go any further. Unrequited love, she believed her AP Literature teacher had spoken of the day before when discussing Wuthering Heights.

"Be still, my broken heart." He laughed, placing his hand over his heart. His smile elicited butterflies in her stomach. Pure jubilation was always something that his smile managed to capture. It could light the room like a million fairy lights.

Jenny let out a laugh that was preceded by a snort. "You're such a dork." Dark red tinted her cheeks.

"Maybe we could hang out after you pick Dustin up."

"I can't. Jonathan and I are planning to go to the record store."

"Oh..." Steve trailed off, looking down at his feet. Jonathan Byers, her new 'best friend.' He had been replaced by a depressing weirdo. What had the world truly come to? "So are you and him...?"

"What, dating? No. He likes Na- um. He likes someone else." Jenny laughed as she leaned against her locker, staring up at Steve. She hugged her books and binders closer to her chest, holding them as if - without them - she would might melt into the tiled floor. "Aren't you the one who said I needed new records?" The playful smile on her lips could charm even the most stubborn of people. It felt as if his sour mood had immediately lifted by just being graced with the chance to view a smile like Jennifer Henderson's.

As she opened her mouth to speak, movement caught Steve's eyes. "Oh," he held his finger up, "hold that thought." Jenny's eyes followed his running form to land on Nancy. Wide eyes watched enviously as his arms wrapped around the girl, hugging her tightly. She watched Nancy smile widely and passionately kiss Steve.

"Jennifer!" The lovely and sweet voice of Barbara Holland frightened Jennifer Henderson. "Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." She chuckled. Her pose was similar to Jenny's, books and binders crushed against her chest. "I was wondering what you got on the chem test?" Her sweet smile could easily give anyone within a twenty mile radius cavities. Barb had always been a girl that Jenny wished she had gotten closer to. They shared a chemistry and their AP literature class together yet hardly ever spoke. Maybe there wasn't much common ground between the two, or maybe they knew that they were just two sides of the same coin.

A chuckle escaped Jenny's throat. A mental cringe took over her as she recalled her chemistry test. "Uh..." she hesitated, "not great." That class had been her least favorite. After countless equations, she could never keep them in her brain long enough for the tests.

Barb's eyes lifted to gaze at Nancy and Steve's sharing of affection. The aforementioned eyes rolled in annoyance. "I love Nancy, but I hate them together."

"Join the club." Jenny mumbled.

Barb smiled. "Let me guess, you're the president."

"Ha ha." Jenny sarcastically laughed as a real smile crossed her face. "Don't act like you're not vice president."

The two girls giggled quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. As the giggles died down, Barb looked at Jenny seriously. "I wish those two had never gotten together. I could've sworn he was going to ask you out." The statement had taken the brunette teenager back a bit.

The scoff that escaped Jenny's throat was loud and drew the attention of the couple not so far away. When Barb straightened up, quickly becoming serious, the Henderson girl stopped talking and stiffened.

"Hey Jennifer." Nancy smiled her sweet smile. No matter how much Jenny wanted to hate the older Wheeler, there was no part of her that could. It made her quite angry, in fact.

"Hi, Nancy," she whispered, staring down at her feet. "I'll see you later, guys. I have to go pick Dustin up from AV club." After turning on the heels of her feet, Jenny tried to quickly leave. Unfortunately for her, a hand wrapped tightly around her forearm. She spun around to meet the soft brown eyes of her best friend. Damn it.

"Hey, Jen," he quietly spoke, "are you okay?"

After swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded with a small smile on her face. Before Steve could say anything else, Jenny pulled her arm out of his grip and left the school.

His eyes watched her figure walk out of the school doors. Eyebrows furrowed, he slowly turns back and returns to his spot next to Nancy. Something was wrong with his best friend and he needed to figure out what it was.

\---

HER FINGERS FLIPPED THROUGH THE ALBUMS WITH EASE. Most were newer - The Police, David Bowie - and some were much older. Quickly rubbing her tingling nose, she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She still had about thirty dollars to spend from her summer job as a camp counselor, which meant she could probably get a couple of records and still have a few dollars left over. "What do you think about this one?" She pulled out Abba: Greatest Hits album and showed it off to Jonathan with a small smile. They both shared a look before shrugging. "Yeah, I don't really like too many songs to warrant buying the album." She placed it back on the shelf and continued her search.

Her honey brown hair fell past her shoulders, falling into her line of sight. With a frustrated huff, she blew a piece out of her eyes. "So," Jonathan's voice grabbed her attention as he slid closer to her to speak quietly, "I was wondering if you were up for a photography session? I found this cool place out by the quarry that we could go to." His eyes looked hopeful towards her. He and Jenny had been perfect friends. She loved to be photographed and he loved to photograph. It had been a match made in Heaven that their little siblings had become close friends. Even if the two hadn't been necessarily close, they truly considered each other friends.

"How's Will?" A soft smile grew on her lips as she thought of the young boy.

"He's fine." Jonathan smiled. It warmed his heart to know that Jenny cared for the group of kids with her whole heart. It was clear and obvious that she would do anything for the children. With a huff of frustration, Jonathan finished looking through the records. "Well, this place doesn't have much. Maybe we could go ahead to the quarry before it gets dark?"

With a deep sigh, Jenny nodded. She was clearly disappointed in not finding any records to add to her collection. The two teenagers left the record store, giggling and making jokes between each other.


	3. nothing but stress with dungeons and dragons

PIZZA BOXES LITTERED THE BASEMENT FLOOR. A smirk played on her lips as her eyes skated across the young boys. The boys' eyes filled with fear and anticipation as they waited for the teenager to read off the next storyline. Her slim fingers slam down the Demogorgon token onto the game board. All of the boys yelled out before turning to Will. "Fireball him!" Lucas shouted. "Cast a spell of protection!" Dustin shouted. "Sneak around him!" Mike yelled.

"The Demogorgon is tired of your silly, human bickering! He stomps forward, screeching." Jenny exclaimed, emitting loud booms as footsteps.

All of them shouted at one another, overwhelming Will. "Fireball!" He quickly shouts before tossing the dice. It immediately falls off of the table and becomes lost among the carpet. Every one of the members groaned loudly before getting on all fours to search for the dice.

Mike's mother yelled down the staircase for him to finish the game. With a scoff, Mike stormed up to the kitchen to beg for more time. The rest searched the entire floor for the dice. "Alright guys, we have to head out. I'll see you three tomorrow morning for school."

She trekked up the basement stairs, through the kitchen, and up the stairs towards Nancy's bedroom. "Steve, you ready- Oh! Oh, my God! I'm so so sorry!" Her exclamations surprised the couple that had been previously making out. "Uh... Dustin and I are heading home so if you want to join, then that's cool, but if you don't, I uh... I get it." Her sentence was quick before she ran down the stairs. Blood flooded to her cheeks, eliciting a bright blush. "See you later, Mrs. Wheeler." She called before leaving the house.

"Jenny, I'm gonna head out with Will on our bikes." Dustin told his older sister.

"Are you sure? I can drive both of you." Her eyebrows furrowed in worry. After her younger brother told her not to worry, she sighed. "Okay, but be careful. I love you."

"Love you, too, Jenny!" Dustin called back as he and Will quickly grabbed their very worn bicycles.

"Hold on, Jen!" Steve called as he ran out after her. "Wait for me, you dork." He laughed as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car. His smile dropped when he noticed his best friend's less than happy expression. As his eyebrows furrowed, a frown formed on his mouth. "Hey, what's up?" Jenny looked over to him, confusion in her brown eyes. Steve turned to her. "What the hell has been going on with you? You've been out of it and you seem upset all the time. Jen," his hands cupped her face and turned her attention to him, "you can talk to me. You've always been there for me, let me return the favor."

"I'm fine, Steve-"

"You're obviously not!" He exclaimed.

"Steve! I am fine. I've just been stressed, okay?" Her snap took him by surprise. Jenny had never been one to raise her voice very often, usually only when she was cheering at a school sports game.

For a moment longer, his eyes remained on her form. He was truly conflicted. There was obviously something bothering her. What the hell?

\---

GORGEOUS CURSIVE WRITING COVERED A FULL PAGE OF HIS NOTEBOOK. A small smile played on his lips as his eyes danced across the letters. In his mind, he envisioned her slim, soft hand gracefully and effortlessly writing every letter that filled his notebook.

"Mr. Harrington," the voice of Ms. Shapiro startled him, "care to join us?"

With a quick nod, Steve closed his notebook to pay attention to the class. His mind hovered around the idea of Jenny. The way her smile didn't quite reach her eyes lately or the way she never really touched him as much anymore. Jenny was a very affectionate woman; her hands always had to be touching a part of his body, whether that be his arm or his hand. It wasn't until she had stopped that he realized he truly liked the feeling of her hand on his arm.

As soon as the bell rang, he bolted out of the classroom to meet the girl who had been on his mind all day. A smile crossed his face as his arms wrapped around Nancy's waist. "God, I missed you." He whispered. Even if he knew it was a lie, he knew he needed to push away the thoughts he had about Jenny from earlier.

"You saw me 30 minutes ago." She chuckled.

"Yeah, but still." He mumbled against her neck. After letting go of her, he spun around to lean his back against the lockers. His eyes found the girl on his mind. Her long brown hair fell down her back. The blue tie dye shirt was tied tightly around her waist and went with her bright blue jeans. "I'll be right back." He told his girlfriend before quickly approaching his best friend. "Hey, loser."

"Hey, nerd." Her sweet voice brought a bright smile to his face. "You comin' to the arcade with the boys and I?"

Steve told her how he wished he could, but that he couldn't. It was obvious that she was disappointed, but part of her didn't want him to know. "I'm sorry." His eyebrows furrowed as his heart filled with guilt.

"Don't be," she smiled bitterly, "I totally understand it. Steve Harrington doesn't want to hang out with the losers because he's too cool, now. I got it. It's really fine." She slammed her locker before walking away from Steve before he could speak.

With a deep sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. "Shit," he hissed before sulking back over to Nancy, as per usual.


	4. give my heart a little break

HIS HANDS WERE SWEATY AS HE HELD HIS BREATH. His heart pounded and his eyes dilated. His breathing quickened. The blood flooded through his veins. "Shut up!" Dustin shouted at his friends who were yelling very, very loudly. "Damn it!" He harshly kicked the machine.

A hand lightly slapped him upside the head. The boy began playfully hitting his sister, laughing as her fingers got hold of his ticklish sides. As Jenny backed up to escape Dustin's defensive tickles, her back slammed into someone. "Oh, my God! I'm so so sorry-" She stopped when she turned to meet their eyes. "Oh."

"Hey, Jen." Steve gives her a hopeful smile. "I'm glad you're still here. I was afraid I wouldn't get here in time." His hand that wrapped tightly around the stem of a lavender flower started to sweat.

"What, were you too busy with Nancy?" Her arms crossed over her chest as a glare settled in her eyes.

A sigh escaped his lips. "Jen, can you and I talk in private?" His glance darted between the prying ears of the preteens and his best friend.

With a roll of her eyes, she nodded. She led him to the corner where a few abandoned games sat, dust settling in the screens. "This better be good."

"Jen, I'm so so sorry that I put Tommy and Carol and Nance ahead of you. I shouldn't have-"

"Steve, I'm not asking you to put me at the top of your list. I understand that you have other friends than I and I understand that you have Nancy. My problem is that you and I made these plans weeks ago. This is a tradition." Her voice raised slightly. "I just hate that it seems like we're drifting apart. You're my best friend, Steve. I just miss how things used to be."

Before any other words were shared, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. His nose pressed against the top of her head as he inhaled her scent of oranges. He pressed a kiss to her hair. "I love you, Jen. Oh! These are for you."

"Love you, too, you big-nosed nerd." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and took the lavender out of his hands.

"Hey, hold my wallet. I'll be right back." He pulled out five dollars before handing the girl his wallet. "I'll probably lose it. And don't steal my money." He jokingly warned as he left her to go to the counter.

The girl let out a chuckle as she watched him get lost in the crowd. Jenny looked down to see a picture peeking out of one of the pockets of his wallet. Her index finger and thumb pinch the corner and pull it out. Her heart practically swells when she sees her school photo. A smile grows on her face. She flips over the photo to see "My Girl" with a heart written on the back.

\---

"You're not talking to my brother or any of his friends without me there." The elder Henderson sibling crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at Chief Jim Hopper.

"You're a lot more difficult to deal with than your mother." The man remarks as he rubs his eyes in exhaustion. "Fine, you can stand in room. But, no talking and you can't distract them."

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she mumbled before entering the office. All of the boys noticeably relaxed in the presence of the girl.

"Alright, so go through it again."

As soon as the boys were about to speak, there was a light knock at the door. With a huff of frustration, Hopper told his officer to see who it was. When he barely cracked open the door, a familiar voice could be heard. "Jen! Hey, can we talk?" The ever so charming Steve Harrington called from the door.

"Steve!" She exclaimed. "This is a horrible time."

Hopper's eyes rolled as he groaned loudly.

"Please, Jen."

"No, Steve! Just leave!" Her yell took everyone by shock. The girl let out a sigh. "Just... go."

Without another word, Steve stepped away from the door and slowly left. All eyes were on Jenny.

"Uh... so, when was the last time you saw Will?"


	5. bald girl who so happens to be a jedi

IT BROKE HER HEART TO SEE HIM LIKE THIS. "I can't believe he's missing." Jonathan sobbed into Jenny's shoulder. "I should've stayed home. It's all my fault." Her heart went out to her poor best friend; it especially ached for the young brother whom she had loved so dearly. Seeing her brother and his friends so distraught had absolutely destroyed her.

"Jon..." Her fingers wound into his hair, massaging his scalp in an attempt to soothe him. She pressed a kiss to the top of his head before resting her cheek against it. "I can help you pass out posters. We're gonna find him, don't worry."

Jenny pushed herself up from the library couch that the librarian had graciously let them use once she had seen the condition the older Byers boy was in. "I'm gonna go print off some more flyers. You stay here, okay?" He nodded weakly before wiping his eyes.

She left the secluded room to approach the librarian's counter. "Hey, Ethel," her wide smile made the older woman smile, "would you be able to print off about 35 more copies of that flyer?"

"Of course, sweetie. That'll be $3.50." After pulling the money out of her wallet, Jenny turned around and approached the printer. A sad smile crossed her face as she looked at the flyer with the black and white photo of a smiling Will.

Arms wrapped tightly around her waist and a pair of lips pressed against her right cheek. The arms picked her up and spun her in the air. "There's my favorite girl in the world." She recognized the voice as Steve Harrington. His grip around her waist tightened as he rested his chin in the crook of her shoulder.

"Hi, Steve." She smiled. Her cheeks burned bright red at the feeling of his arms around her and his breath hitting her neck. "I got something that is totally you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah." She chuckled and pulled out a pair of black sunglasses. "I feel like these would make you look cool. And I know you'd do anything to be cool."

"Ha ha, you're really hilarious, Jennifer. I mean, just astoundingly funny." Steve sarcastically spoke as he took the sunglasses out of her hands. After placing them on, he smirked and looked at Jenny. "Well? How do I look?"

"Like Joe Cool."

He snapped his fingers in a way similar to Fonzie from Happy Days. "Ayyy," he laughed and pulled her into a hug. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Jen."

"Same to you, Steve."

"What are you printing out?" Before she could answer, he grabbed the paper. His expression dropped when he looked over the contents. "How's uh... How's your brother holding up?"

Her shoulders shrugged. "I don't know. He's kind of closed me off." Her arms crossed over her chest in an attempt to hug herself.

Steve took off his sunglasses and rested them on top of his head. A frown formed on his face as she obviously became upset. "Hey, c'mere," he pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm sure he's just trying to deal with it on his own. He's a boy; he doesn't want to seem upset or anything."

His heart broke as he felt her body shake from her sobs. The two stood there for a few minutes as Jenny sobbed into Steve's chest. She pulled back and quickly wiped away any trace of tears. "I uh... I have to get these back to Jonathan. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

"Yeah, of course. I could come over, if you want. It could be like old times. We could play some records, maybe I could get you dancing again."

Jenny chuckled before standing on her tiptoes and pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

\---

"WHAT?! DUSTIN, THIS ISN'T FUNNY." Jenny crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm not joking! There is a bald girl who has the Force in Mike's basement!"

Her eyebrow lifted in annoyance. "Fine, I'll bite. Let's go meet this bald girl who is apparently a Jedi."

"Now, keep an open mind-"

"No, Dustin! What do you think you're doing?" The youngest Wheeler boy stopped the siblings at the basement door. The terrified look in his eyes told Jenny that something strange was indeed going on.

A scoff escaped Dustin's throat. "C'mon, Mike. It's Jenny. She's trustworthy."

"Yeah, screw the man!" She lifted her fist in the air before forming a peace sign. "You guys, no matter what it is, you can trust me."

After letting out a sigh, Mike took a step to the left and opened the basement door. He led the two down the stairs. Jenny noticed the pillow fort made in the corner of his basement. "El?" Mike called out. "You can come out. She's a friend."

"Friend?"

The sudden and unfamiliar voice from behind her made Jenny practically jump out of her skin. A gasp involuntarily escaped as she spun around. Stood in front of her was a young girl - around Dustin's age - with a shaved head. "Holy shit, you weren't kidding." Jenny whispered to her brother.

"I told you." Dustin smiled widely at his impressed sister.

"Uh... Hi. My name is Jenny. You are?"

"Her name is El, short for Eleven." Mike answered.

"Well, El, it's nice to meet you." The older girl smiled widely. Her warm and caring nature brought a small smile to Eleven's face. When Jenny took a small step forward, the young girl immediately jumped back. "I promise I won't hurt you. I just want to see that cut you have on your cheek."

Eleven's hand immediately shot up to her cheek. Her fingers pulled back to reveal a small amount of blood. Her eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

"It's okay, I just want to get a bandaid on that." Jenny spoke softly. The girl took a hesitant step towards Jenny. As soon as the older girl's fingers made contact with Eleven's face, she flinched away. "I'm sorry, sweetie." She immediately apologized. "I'll be gentle." After she told Dustin to hand her one of his many bandaids he kept on hand, Jenny gently placed it on Eleven's cheek. "There, all better." She smiled and stood up.

"Friend?" Eleven asked Jenny.

"Friend."


	6. a pity party in flames

THE SOUND OF HIS PARENTS SCREAMING AT EACH OTHER WAS NOTHING NEW. He knew that nothing good could come from his mom deciding to stay in Hawkins, Indiana. With Jenny's birthday just around the corner, Steve was already stressing out. The top things on his list of stress were his father inevitably getting shit-faced drunk and beating the shit out of him and his mom, and getting Jenny a present. If he were being real, he'd say that Jenny was the thing he stressed about the most in his entire life.

The loud ringing of the phone shook Steve out of his thoughts and made him jump. He cursed under his breath before rolling his eyes.

"Steven!" His mother yelled from downstairs.

"Yeah?" He called back.

"Your girlfriend's on the phone!"

He grabbed the landline phone off of his bedside table and answered. "Yeah?"

"Hey Steve."

"Hey Jen. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could possibly come over."

"Now?"

"If that's a problem, you don't have to."

"No, no. I was dreading you'd say tomorrow."

Jenny could practically feel the smirk through the phone. She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Shut up and get here, loser."

Steve practically jumped out of his bed and ran to the mirror. "Shit, okay. I can't wear this." He glared down at the white and grey striped shirt and brown pants. After stifling through his clothes for about five minutes, Steve settled on a blue sweatshirt and blue jeans.

The walk to Jenny's only took five minutes; which was something that he loved about his house, it was close to almost everything, especially Jenny's house. When he finally approached the house, Steve grabbed the stark white gutter and used it to pull himself onto the roof. He slowly pushed her bedroom window open, crawling in as stealthily as he could - which was not very stealthy.

"Hey Jen." He wrapped his arms around her waist, knocking her onto her bed. They both laughed and settled on the bed. "So, I've been thinking about your birthday."

She hummed in response.

"What if we have a party at my place for it?" He smirked his annoyingly charming smirk. "My parents will be gone so the place will be to myself. We could invite Tommy and Carol and Nancy-"

"And Barb!"

"Who's Barb?" Steve furrowed his eyebrows, earning a roll of Jenny's eyes. Her fist collided with his arm, eliciting a playful yelp of pain from him. "Of course, we can invite Barb, babe. Anyone else you want to invite?"

"I'd honestly be content with just Barb." She shrugged, smiling as Steve rolled his eyes.

"Wow, you're such a social butterfly."

"I get it from you."

\---

"HEY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Steve smiled as widely as he could as he pulled Jenny into a tight hug. "I can't believe my baby sis is already seventeen."

"Steve, you sound like my mom." The girl chuckled pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, though."

"Okay, hear me out. I need you to close your eyes." He quickly ran around her to cover her eyes with his hands. "No peaking from you, young lady."

The two slowly walked through Steve's large house. They soon slowed to a stop where Steve took his hands off of her eyes. "You can open your eyes... Now!"

Jenny opened her eyes to see green decorations with sunflowers all over them. A large smile spread on her face as she looked over the decorations with glee. "Oh, my god... Steve," she covered her mouth to hide the large smile she couldn't contain, "you did all of this?"

"Uh..." he chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks grew bright red, "yeah, I did. I was real nervous about showing you."

"Why? You know I love all of this stuff! You should've known I would love this."

He pulled a small box out of his back pocket and placed it in her hands. "I got this for you."

Jenny slowly opened it. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the necklace. It was half of a heart that said 'best'. "I have the uh... I have the other one." Steve pulled out a silver chain that was draped around his neck. It was the other half of the heart that said 'friends'.

"I love it." She nearly sobbed before quickly putting it on.

He opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off when the doorbell rang. "Hold that thought, Jen." Steven turned and ran to the front door. The loud voices of Tommy and his girlfriend Carol could be heard from the other side of the house.

"Hey, happy birthday, Jenny." They both blandly stated before walking out to the backyard.

"Well, so much for them celebrating your birthday." Steve stated as he entered the kitchen. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I'm sorry for them, Jen."

"No, no, it's fine." Jenny chuckled before pulling him into a hug. "I don't care about them." After pulling away from the hug, she approached the record player. As soon as the sounds of Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin filled the house, she began dancing slowly to the beat.

The doorbell rang once again. Happiness filled Jenny when she realized that it must be Barb. A smile grew on her face as the tall redhead entered the room. "Barb!" She exclaimed, running into her arms. "I'm so happy you're here."

The two girls immediately became enraptured in a conversation. A small smile grew on Steve's face as he watched Jenny talk so freely and happily. A pang of jealousy struck him at the sight, though. He was her best friend, not Barb. So how could she talk to easily to the red headed girl?

Nancy's hand dragging him out towards the backyard pushed all thoughts of Jenny out of his mind.

Both Barb and Jenny eventually made their way out to the backyard. All of the teens, save for Barb and Jenny, were chugging and shotgunning beers left and right. "Nancy, don't you think that's enough?" Barb asked her best friend.

"Oh, hush, Barb. Don't be my mom." She giggled drunkenly was she pierced the can of beer and chugged it. Steve, Tommy, and Carol applauded the Wheeler girl. "C'mon, Barb. You should do it. Have fun for once." She handed Barb the sharp knife and a can of beer.

The redhead glanced around nervously. "You don't have to do that. I'm not planning on drinking tonight." Jenny comforted her friend.

"That's because you're too lame." Carol joked, earning a glare from Steve and Jenny.

Barb hesitantly attempted to pierce the can but to no avail. She only cut her hand. Blood seeped from the wound. "Gnarly," Tommy whispered. Barb took a deep breath, grimacing at the pain.

Jenny shot up from her seat. "I'll take you to the bathroom and get you cleaned up." She glared harshly at Steve before retreating into the house.

"I'll uh... I'll be right back." Steve told the group before quickly following the two girls. He apologized profusely to Barb as all three entered the bathroom. The redhead repeatedly forgave him and didn't blame him.

His eyes watched his best friend gently clean and dress Barb's cut. The girl handled her friend so delicately; it made Steve smile to himself. "I'm gonna head back out there." He spoke out loud, directing it towards Jenny. She hummed in response, not bothering to look up.

When she finished dressing Barb's cut, she rubbed her tired eyes. "I think I'm gonna go ahead and hit the hay. I am exhausted. Wake me up before you leave, though."

Barb nodded, a smile on her face. "Hey, Jennifer," she spoke before Jenny could leave, "thanks for hanging with me tonight. It wouldn't have been fun without you."

A large smile grew on Jenny's face. Her long arms wrapped around Barb and pulled her into a tight, warm hug. The two embraced for a few minutes before pulling away and parting ways. "I'll see you tomorrow." Jenny smiled.

"See ya tomorrow, Jennifer."

\---

A drunk and giggly Nancy and Steve stumbled through the house. The two stopped when Steve noticed the small mass of an asleep Jenny on the couch. "Uh... one second," he told Nancy before approaching his best friend.

He scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs. "You really care about her, don't you?" Nancy asked as she watched him place her in his parents' bed.

A small smile formed on his face as her nose scrunched up in an adorable way. "She's been my best friend since middle school. She was there for me before Tommy and Carol. Jen knows more about me than even I know about myself." He turned back to his girlfriend, a smirk forming on his face. "But that shouldn't stop us from our original plans." The couple stumbled towards Steve's room for an interesting night.


	7. monster hunting and human fighting

HER ARMS CROSSED OVER HER CHEST IN SPECULATION. "Monster hunting, huh?" Jenny furrowed her eyebrows as she stared skeptically at Jonathan and Nancy. "You guys think a fictional monster took Will?"

"And Barb." Nancy interjected. The name caused a lump in Jenny's throat. Barb was one of her best friends; the two shared a love of the library and books in general. She missed their talks of authors and poems the two loved.

Two girls walked by, pointing and laughing at Jenny and Nancy. "Can I help you two?" Jenny snapped.

The girls chuckled more. "See any good movies recently?" Both Nancy and Jenny looked at each other, confused. "You should go check out the theater, Nancy!" They called before walked off, still laughing.

"Let's go." Jenny nodded her head in the direction of the movie theater that wasn't far from them. The trio made their way to the movie theater, stopping when they saw the words in red spray paint. "Oh my." She mumbled. 'Nancy 'The Slut' Wheeler' was spray painted onto the movie theater where everyone could see. "Who the hell would do this?" Jenny hissed, her hands clenched in fists.

There was a loud commotion from the alley nearby. "What the hell, Carol? Don't drop that, it's the expensive shit!" The voice of Tommy made Jenny internally groan before taking off towards the alley.

"Look who it is." Carol spoke condescendingly towards the Wheeler girl.

Nancy stormed up to an angry Steve. No words were exchanged between the two before her hand lifted and struck him across the face. His eyes lifted from Nancy to Jenny. His face immediately grew red as he looked back down to his feet.

"What the hell is your problem?" Nancy exclaimed.

"I guess I shouldn't be shocked that you're with Jonathan." He remarked, glaring at her. "What the hell does he have that I don't?"

"Wha- What are you talking about?"

"I saw you with Jonathan! What, did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"Hey, man-" Jonathan started.

"No! I don't want to hear it, Byers." Steve shoved Jonathan harshly.

"Steve, stop it." Jenny took a step forward but Jonathan stopped her.

"Just leave them." The Byers boy told the two girls before turning and beginning to walk away.

"Oh yeah, run off, Byers. That's just like a Byers. I mean between your deadbeat dad and your psycho mom, you and your brother are fucked. No wonder he disappeared."

"Steve, fuck off!" Jenny shouted and shoved him.

Jonathan turned around and threw a punch at Steve. A fight very quickly broke out between the two boys. Jenny stepped back, rolling her eyes as Carol and Tommy egged the fight on while Nancy tried to stop it.

The loud sirens of police cars grew closer as the fight continued. "Jonathan, c'mon! We have to go!" Nancy yelled, helping Jenny pull him off.

"You're dead, Byers! You and your whole deadbeat family! I hope you go to jail for killin' your brother!" Tommy yelled as the cops pulled up.

Jonathan tried to run at him, but was held back by Jenny and Nancy. "Jen, I'm so-" Steve started.

"Just go!" She yelled at him, causing him to flinch. With that, he ran off with Tommy and Carol.

"Hey, stop!" One of the officers yelled at Tommy and the others before running after them. The other officer grabbed Jonathan, earning a punch to the cheek. He grabbed Jonathan's arms and held them behind his back, handcuffing them as soon as the other officer came back with no other teens.

Jenny and Nancy sighed as the police officers took Jonathan away. "What the hell?" Jenny whispered.

'Nancy Wheeler is a whor' the words stated. It wasn't finished, presuming Steve noticed what Tommy was writing. "I'll um... You go to the sheriff's office and wait for Jonathan. I'll go find Steve and ask about it." Nancy nodded before walking off.

Jenny stared at the writing on the wall. She didn't know whether she should be mad at Steve or not. With a loud sigh, Jenny walked off in the direction that the three had ran off to.

"I don't see why you have such a bug up your ass about Jenny. She's not that great." Carol stated, glaring at Steve as he sat on the trunk of his car.

"Shut up." Steve mumbled, holding a napkin and a can of Coca-Cola against his bleeding nose.

"You deserve twenty times better than Nancy Wheeler, Steve." Tommy exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "And Jenny Henderson is too much of a goody two shoes. She's too much of a loser to be around us. She should've went missing with that redhead girl."

Steve jumped off of the car and shoved Tommy back. "You wanna go for round two?" He snapped.

Tommy grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the car. "Go ahead, I'll make more than just your nose bleed."

"Back off, asshole." Steve hissed and shoved Tommy away from him. "If you even breathe around Jen, I'll make sure you regret it."

Tommy and Carol scoffed before turning and walking away. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, quickly pulling away at the sharp pain he felt. "God, you're a mess." The voice made him smile. He looked up to see Jenny, a sad smile on her face.

"Jen, I'm so sorry." He mumbled before approaching her. The look on his face was similar to that of a kicked puppy. "I regret all of that shit. I was just... I love her, y'know."

He was cut off as Jenny pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Don't worry. I'm not mad at you. But I don't think I'm the one you need to apologize to." Steve pulled her into a tight hug, snuggling his face into her hair. "It's okay, sweetie." She ran her hand through his hair.

Tears started to build up in his eyes. 'Men don't cry, you pussy.' His father yelled at him when he was six and crying over his scraped knee. "Hey, you're okay, babe. It's okay." She whispered, rubbing small circles against his back. Jenny pressed a kiss to his cheek and let him cry against her shoulder. She hadn't realized just how much she loved him until that vulnerable moment.

"I love you, Jen. You're the best friend I've ever had."

"I love you, too, Steve." Her voice came out as a sad whisper.


	8. thriller night

HER HEART RACED AS SHE WATCHED ELEVEN FLOAT IN THE POOL OF WATER. Her nerves were sky high as picked at hangnails. A small hand gently tapped her shoulder. It was her younger brother, holding a can of chocolate pudding and two spoons. "Do you want to share?" He asked in his innocent yet worried voice.

A small smile formed on Jenny's face as she looked down at her smiling brother. She nodded and grabbed the plastic spoon that he held up to her. His free hand reached up to grab hers in an effort to comfort her.

"Barbara?" Eleven called out as she floated. Both Nancy and Jenny tended up at the name. The electricity began pulsing as the young girl began breathing heavily. That couldn't be a good sign. The lights shut off, leaving them all in the dark.

Nancy pleaded with Eleven, asking if Barb was okay and alive. "Gone, gone," the girl repeated in a shaky tone. Jenny's hand tightened around Dustin's.

Joyce began gently pulling Eleven towards her. "It's okay," she mumbled, attempting to comfort Eleven. The girl noticeably relaxed as Joyce spoke.

"Castle Byers," Eleven mumbled, "Will?" She called.

"Tell him I'm coming for him!" Joyce told her.

"Hurry." Will's voice called on the radio.

Eleven's whimpering could be heard from the radio before she shot out of the water. Tears poured down her face as Joyce held her tightly.

Both Joyce and Hopper spoke quietly before storming out of the school. "Stay with the kids," Joyce told Jenny and Jonathan before she left. Jonathan quickly followed his mother.

Jenny approached Eleven with a pink towel. She draped it over the young girl, giving her an assuring smile. "You did amazing, kid." She whispered as she pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Im proud of you."

After waiting a half an hour for Jonathan and Nancy to come back, Mike quickly stood up and stormed out of the gym. Eleven moved her head that had previously leaned on Mike's shoulder to lie her head on Jenny's lap.

Mike storms back into the gym to tell the group that Nancy and Jonathan are gone. "They're probably just sucking face somewhere." Dustin responded, earning a slap on the back of the head from Jenny.

"Gross!" Lucas replied.

"Do you know where they went?" Mike asked Eleven as she lifted her head off of Jenny's lap. She nodded. "Where did they go?"

She stared at Mike for a few seconds before answering, "Demogorgon."

"I'm gonna go find some more chocolate pudding." Dustin mumbled before walking out of the gym before Jenny could stop him.

After twenty minutes of sitting with Mike and Eleven, Jenny shot up from her seat. "I'm gonna go find those two idiots. You two stay out of trouble and do NOT go anywhere without telling me. Got it?"

The two children nodded. With that, Jenny left to go find Dustin and Lucas. It was fairly easy to find them in the cafeteria kitchen, stockpiling chocolate pudding like it was the end of the world. "You two are idiots." She chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hey, Jen," Dustin called, "can you carry some? Your arms are longer and can hold more."

With another laugh, Jenny nodded and let the two boys stockpile chocolate pudding into her arms.

\---

SHE BREATHES HEAVILY, CLOSING HER EYES IN AN ATTEMPT TO CALM HERSELF DOWN. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," she mumbled to herself. Her fingers wound tightly around the heart necklace.

Her eyes shot open as they made a run for it down the hall. As they turned a corner, military men with guns and flashlights found them. The group turned back just to meet two more groups. This cornered them.

A blond woman in a trench coat pointed a gun at Eleven. As much as she wanted to stand in the way, Jenny felt more of an obligation to her brother. Eleven glared the woman down.

Blood began seeping out of the corners of the woman's eyes. Flashlights flickered. Blood began spilling from every soldier's eyes and noses. Every one of them collapsed, including Eleven.

They all fell to the girl's side. An older man with white hair walked into the hallway, followed by three soldiers with guns. The group immediately stood up, ready to defend their friend.

"Step away from the child." The man told them.

"No!" They all shouted. "You want her," Mike taunted, "you have to kill us first."

"Yeah, fuck you!" Jenny hissed.

"That's right!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Eat shit!" Lucas yelled.

Soldiers quickly ran up behind all of them and grabbed them. "Get off of him!" Jenny shouted at the officer holding Dustin. "Fuck off!"

The man pulled Eleven into his arms, attempting to wake her up. "Papa," she mumbled. Mike screamed at him in anger. "Mike," she called, reaching out to the Wheeler boy, "Mike." The electricity began flickering.

They all stared in shock at the brick wall that was being knocked down by some creature. "Demogorgon," Dustin mumbled before a loud boom could be heard as the creature smashed through the wall.

All of the soldiers let go of the group and began shooting at the monster. Dustin picked Eleven up in his arms and the group ran away as fast as they could.

When they finally found solace in a classroom, Dustin set Eleven on a table. She weakly looked up at Mike as he reassured her that they would make it out alive. The monster screeched loudly as the gunfire ceased.

The door broke down as the monster entered. Jenny immediately shoved Dustin back. All of them shouted as Dustin and Mike pulled a slingshot and rocks out of a backpack.

After hitting the monster with two rocks, it didn't seem like it was going down. It inched forward, growing closer to the group. "Here's the monster killer!" Dustin shouted as he handed Lucas a rock.

Lucas geared the slingshot with his rock. He aimed as the monster roared and let the rock go. The creature flew back, knocking over desks, and slammed into the chalkboard. They all stared in shock.

Eleven emerged from behind them. A glare settled on her face and blood dripping from her left nostril. She walked towards the creature with determination. "Eleven, stop!" Mike shouted and went to run after her. Before Jenny could stop him, Eleven flung him back against the drawer.

The monster hissed and squealed as she held him in place. She turned to the group with a sad expression. "Goodbye, Mike." She whispered before turning back to the monster.

Tears fell down Mike's face as he watched.

Eleven held her hand up, eliciting a loud screech from the creature. They all covered their ears as Eleven screamed loudly. The creatures body slowly dissipated into a dust that consumed Eleven.

As the dust faded, the group could see that Eleven was no longer in the room.


	9. dreaming of a white christmas

JENNY LEANED HER HEAD AGAINST STEVE'S CHEST. The two Henderson siblings were fast asleep. A bruised and beaten Steve Harrington was asleep and lightly snoring while his arm draped around Jenny's shoulders. Dustin's head rested on Lucas' shoulder. The only young boy not asleep was an anxious Mike.

The door to the waiting room opened and a doctor entered. "Will Byers is now receiving visitors." He announced to the group. Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Jenny shot up from their seats.

As they all approached the hospital room, a tired and smiling Joyce and Jonathan stood just outside the door. Jenny asked Joyce how her son was doing. The Byers mother responded with a tired smile and tears in her eyes. "It's like nothing ever happened to him." She pulled Jenny into a tight hug and lightly cried into the girl's shoulder. "Thank you for keeping them safe."

"I couldn't save El."

"You couldn't have stopped her anyway." Joyce pressed a loving kiss to Jenny's cheek before turning back to see all of the boys talking excitedly about what Will had missed. Both girls had large smiles on their faces.

Jenny pushed the boys aside to pull Will into a gentle hug. "It's my turn, you idiots." She chuckled. As soon as she pulled away, they all began chirping excitedly about Eleven and all of the amazing things she did.

A hand gently wrapped around her shoulder. She turned to see Steve smiling softly at her. "Whenever you two are ready to leave, I'll drive you guys home." He whispered before pressing a kiss to her temple.

"After all of this, you're gonna have to tell me what you got into while I was gone." She chuckled and gently nudged his side with her elbow.

"Yeah, same for you."

\---

"SOMETHING IS COMING," Jenny quietly and menacingly spoke, "something angry. Hungry for your blood. It is almost here."

"What is it?" Will asked impatiently.

"It's the Thessalhydra, I'm telling you." Dustin groaned.

"It's not the Thessalhydra," both Mike and Lucas argued.

"I'm telling you, it's the Thessalhydra!" Dustin exclaimed.

Jenny slams down one of the charms. "The Thessalhydra!" She shouts.

"Damn it!" Dustin shouts.

"It roars in anger! Will, your action!" Jenny exclaims.

He looks to his friends for guidance. "Fireball him!" Lucas immediately replies. Both Mike and Dustin stare at each other before nodding. A smirk forms on Dustin's face. "Fireball the son of a bitch."

Will smiles and rolls the dice. They all cheer as it lands on a fourteen. "Direct hit! Will the Wise's fireball hits the Thessalhydra! It makes a painful..." she screeches loudly before collapsing onto the ground. "It crumbles to the ground. It's clawed hand reaches for you one last time. And..." She falls to symbolize its death.

All of the boys cheer loudly together. Lucas and Will hug. Jenny, Will, Dustin, and Lucas all dance and cheer as Mike stared at the pillow fort longingly. If only Eleven were here. She would have loved Dungeons and Dragons.

"Wait, that can't be it," Dustin complains before plopping back down on his seat.

Jenny shrugs. "Sorry, boys. That's it."

"That campaign was way too short!" Lucas exclaims.

"It was ten hours!" Jenny exclaimed.

"It didn't make sense!"

"How does it not make sense?" Jenny shouted at her brother.

"What about the lost knight?"

"And the proud princess?" Lucas adds.

"And those weird flowers in the cave?" Will adds.

"I don't know-" Jenny is cut off when Jonathan barrels down the stairs. "What's that smell?" He asks, sniffing the air. "Have you guys been playing games or just farting?"

"Dustin did that," both Lucas and Jenny laugh.

"Will, c'mon," he tells his brother. He nods towards the door.

"I'll see you guys later." Will tells the boys.

Jenny stands up and pulls the boy into a hug, lifting him off the ground. "Have a wonderful Christmas, Will the Wise."

"Bye, Jen the Dungeon Master." He laughs as she sets him down.

Both Dustin and Lucas begin wrestling and once again, Mike stared at the pillow fort.

After the Byers boys had left, another person barreled down the stairs. It was none other than Steve Harrington. "Hey, Jen, you got a sec- Jeez, what is that smell?" He flinches at the smell.

Jenny chuckled before throwing her thumb to point at Dustin and Lucas. "What's up?"

"I wanted to give you something." He pulled out a wrapped present.

"On my gosh, I almost forgot about your present!" She ran upstairs, the Harrington boy close behind. "It's in here." She grabbed it off of the kitchen table. "Open mine first!" She insisted, shoving the present into his hands. He smiles as he gently unwraps the gift. "Oh my god, just rip it off!" Jenny exclaims impatiently. Steve laughed as he ripped off the wrapping.

It was a blue book with a photo of him attempting to look cool as the front photo. 'Steve' was written in her pretty cursive handwriting on the front. He opened it to see a short letter to him.

'Steve,  
You are my best friend. Since 7th grade, you have been by my side. Whether it was to help me have a better social life or to distract me from the world, you have always been the person there for me. I feel so lucky to have you in my life and I can't wait to see what the future has for you and I. Because I know the one thing that will stay constant is us.  
Love,  
Jenny'

He bit his bottom lip as he began flipping through the pages. They were covered in photos of him or photos of the two together. Stickers littered the pages as well as cursive writing that stated the date the photo was taken and a memory from that day.

"Jeez, Jen," his voice cracked as he stared at the photo of the two in their freshman year. He was smiling widely as Jenny pressed a rough kiss to his cheek. "My gift looks like shit compared to this." He chuckled.

Jenny rolled her eyes before tearing the wrapping off of the gift. Her eyes widened as she stared down at the cassette tape. Sloppy handwriting read 'S + J Jams' on the front. "Uh... Jonathan helped me make it." He scratched the back of his neck; something he would do when he would get nervous. "It has some of your favorite songs. There's a LOT of Led Zeppelin and a lot of Queen." He chuckled. "I was thinking we could-"

"Steve," she cut him off.

"Sorry, I know I'm rambling-"

"Steven Andrew, this is the best gift I've ever gotten!" Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she jumped into his arms. "Thank you so much!"

"Anything for you, Jennifer Sue."

\---

"JENNY! Jenny! Jenny! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

The teenage girl slowly woke up. The bright sun burned her tender eyes. She turned to see her excited younger brother smiling widely at her with his front teeth missing. "Huh?"

"It's Christmas, Jen! C'mon!" He grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the bed. The two Henderson kids darted into the living room to see the presents under the tree. The boy immediately fell down, grabbing a present and handing it to Jenny. He grabbed another one and started tearing into it.

A large smile grew on her face as she watched her brother tear open the presents in excitement. "Holy crap! It's the Atari!"

"Mom and I split the cost. I hope you like it, you ass." Jenny chuckled.

Her chuckle was cut off when his body slammed into hers in a tight hug. "You're the best sister anyone could ask for."


	10. halloween hijinks

HER TAN ARMS CROSSED OVER HER CHEST AS SHE STARED UP AT A SWEATY STEVE. The dark eyebrow on the right lifted in curiosity. The angry eyes he attempted to make made her heart practically swoon.

As Steve continued to rant about the newest student, Billy Hargrove, Jenny felt her eyes shifting back and forth between his eyes and his lips. Her ears drowned his words out. Her heart raced as thoughts flooded her mind. Without a second thought, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist as she pulled him into a hug. "Don't let that asshole get the best of you. You're better than him."

His eyebrows furrowed as his arms slowly wrapped around her body. "Uh... Thanks?" He questioned. "I uh... I gotta head back in. You coming to the party tonight?"

"No, I'm going trick or treating with the boys. They're going as the Ghostbusters and I'm going as Dana when she becomes Zuul."

"Oh, really? So, you're gonna be wearing that one orange dress that she wears?" His eyebrows shot up near his hairline.

"Uh... duh. That's kind of the whole outfit." She chuckled. He hummed in response, falling silently into his thoughts. "Is that a problem or something?"

"Oh, uh... No, not at all. It's just gonna... It's gonna be kind of chilly tonight and I don't want you getting sick." He shrugged his shoulders. "I really have to get back to P.E. I might kick Hargrove's ass in basketball someday."

As he walked away, Jenny called after him. "I don't think today is that day."

He turned, walking backwards and covered his heart in mock offense. "I'll see you next period." He winked at her before entering the gym.

\---

A SMILE GREW ON HER LIPS AS SHE LOOKED AT HER BOYS. All of her little Ghostbusters made her heart dance with a smile. Joyce Byers smiled widely as she looked at everyone all dressed up for trick or treating. Her naturally curled hair flew into her face as she took pictures of the boys together. "Alright Venkmans, I need one of you on my arm so that I don't just look like a wannabe Sigourney Weaver."

Both Mike and Lucas were immediately at her sides. She let out a chuckle before pulling out her camera. "Alright, boys! Let's take a picture." She handed the camera to Dustin so he could take the picture of Jenny, Lucas, and a pouting Mike. "Now one as a group!"

Joyce happily took the camera and took more than one picture of the group with several different poses. Jonathan entered the room, chuckling as he watched Jenny enthusiastically pose for the camera with the group of boys.

"Dana Barrett, huh?" He chuckled as he looked her costume up and down.

"There is no Dana, only Zuul." She responded in her best creepy voice.

Jonathan nodded, clearly impressed. "Wow, you did a better impression than I thought you would."

"Ouch, Byers," she slapped his arm, "that hurts my heart."

"You guys ready to head out?" Jonathan asked the group of boys. They all cheered and ran out to Jonathan's car. Joyce told the two teenagers an endless list of things to watch out for and rules to follow. Namely being back on time and making sure all boys stayed together. "Mom, we got it!" Jonathan chuckled as he pulled her into a hug.

Joyce smiled as she hugged both of the teenagers, pressing rough kisses to their foreheads. "You guys have fun tonight!" She called as they closed the door behind them.

All of the boys were already in the car, practically bouncing up and down with excitement. A large smile formed on Jenny's face as she looked at Dustin smiling widely at his friends.

The two climbed into the car and drove off towards the richer neighborhoods. The night sky was full of stars and the air was slightly chilly, but not chilly enough to warrant a jacket. "Aren't you coming?" Jenny asked Jonathan when she noticed that he was the only one not exiting the car.

He bit his bottom lip nervously before shaking his head. "Would you mind if I went to a Halloween party tonight? I can obviously pick you guys up and I won't be there all night-"

"Jon, no, I don't mind at all!" Her warm smile made him immediately relax. "Go have fun at your party. Seriously. I'll watch these boys like the mother hen I am."

"Jen, Jonathan! C'mon!" Dustin yelled.

"Yeah, lets go before all of the good candy is gone!" Lucas added.

"Have fun and say hi to Steve for me." Jenny smiled at him one last time before approaching the boys.

The older Byers boy called his younger brother over to talk. He told Will that he was going to a party and that he needed to listen to every word Jenny said. Will smiled and constantly told him that he understood as Jonathan read out the endless list that their mother had given them. "Please remember to stay with Jenny. If something happens, go to her. Got it?"

"Yes, Jonathan." Will rolled his eyes; he smiled to himself. "Have fun," the younger boy turned and ran back to his friends. Jonathan waved at the group one last time before driving away.

"Alright, boys!" Jenny smiled widely at her little Ghostbusters. "Let's get trick or treating!"

\---

AS THEY WALKED THROUGH THE RICH NEIGHBORHOOD, JENNY NOTICED WILL DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM THE OTHER BOYS. His pace matched Jenny's. Her eyebrows furrowed before she slightly leaned her head closer towards him. "What's up, Will?" She asked in a hushed tone so that the others wouldn't hear.

"Oh, uh... I don't know." He shrugged. "It's just... I don't know, it's kind of stupid."

"If it has this big of an effect on you, it's most definitely not stupid."

"Somebody uh..." he rooted around in his pocket to pull out an article from a newspaper that was ripped out. Jenny recognized it as the article written about Will. In big, bold, green writing were the words 'Zombie Boy'. "They left this in my locker."

Jenny grabbed the paper out of his hands and ripped it up into small pieces, letting the pieces scattering everywhere. "Don't listen to them. Kids are mean and they're only gonna get worse in high school. As long as you have the guys, you don't need to worry about anyone else."

Her hand squeezed his shoulder. She stopped in her tracks when the boy's arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "Thanks, Jen." He mumbled against her stomach. She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Anytime, Will the Wise."


	11. the one where it's all bullshit

AS SOON AS HE ENTERED THE CROWDED HOUSE, A GLARE FORMED IN HIS EYES AT THE SIGHT OF BILLY HARGROVE. It seemed that the enemy had also noticed his own personal enemy. He approached Steve, his former friend Tommy close behind. "Looks like there's a new king of Hawkins High," Billy sneered.

"Yeah, you're done, Harrington!" Tommy exclaimed as backup.

Steve slowly took off the pair of sunglasses Jenny had given him the previous year. The boys stared each other down with tension. Nancy Wheeler rolled her eyes and turned to find the kitchen. She craved a drink already and didn't feel like dealing with the egos of teenage boys.

As she approached the punch bowl that contained red liquid, she looked up at the boy pouring the drink into his cup. "What's in this?" She asked him.

"Pure fuel!" He yelled before walking away.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she hesitantly poured the drink into her red solo cup. Three full cups later, Steve finally found her in the kitchen. "Hey, how many have you had?"

"Not enough." She hissed.

"I think you've had enough, Nance."

"You wanted me to let loose, remember? To forget Barb!"

"Nance, stop-" He tried to take the cup out of her hands.

"Steve, no!" She shouted before losing the grip on the cup. Red liquid spilled all over her stark white shirt. The couple stood in shock at each other. All eyes were now on them. She glared hatefully at Steve before storming towards the stairs.

Steve followed her up to the bathroom to help her clean off her shirt. As the two entered the bathroom, words were immediately exchanged. Nancy yelled at him, stating that it was their fault that Barb was dead.

"Nancy-"

"I mean, we're just partying and pretending like we're in love and that nothing ever happened to Barb." Nancy slurred her words.

"Wait, 'like we're in love'?" Steve asked.

"It's bullshit," her words became more and more slurred the more she repeated it, "it's bullshit!"

"You don't love me?"

"It's... bullshit." She hissed.

Steve clenched his jaw before storming out. He stomped past people; one of those people was Jonathan Byers. The older Byers boy noticed where Steve had come from and naturally went up the stairs to find the Wheeler girl.

\---

TEARS POURED DOWN HIS FACE AS HE WALKED THROUGH THE BUSY NEIGHBORHOOD. He kept his sunglasses on and his head down. He couldn't afford someone from school seeing him bawl his eyes out.

His hand reached up and roughly wiped away the tears that fell down his cheeks. Children ran past him, their giggles filling the air as they ran up to different houses. Familiar voices could be heard shouting across the street. He lifted his eyes to see Jenny and the young boys. His heart stopped at the sight of them, especially Jenny.

The orange dress that hung loosely off of her shoulders caused his breath to hitch in his throat. After making sure there was no trace of tears, he looked down the street before jogging towards them. "Jen!" He called.

The entire group, including a ginger girl in a Michael Myers costume, turned to look at him. "Hey Steve!" Jenny greeted with a large smile. "Wow, you look like a cooler version of Fonzie." She chuckled.

Her warm smile was gladly welcomed by the heartbroken boy. "Is it uh... Is it cool if I hang with you guys tonight?" He asked, biting his bottom lip nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, of course!" She glanced around him, noticing someone missing. "Wait, where's Nancy?"

"She uh... She wanted to stay at the party."

Jenny nodded. She decided not to question further. "Well, you should take off those sunglasses. It's night and you look like a douchebag." He let out a chuckle as she took the sunglasses off of his face and placed them on top of her head. Her arm locked around his arm as they walked a foot behind the group of kids. "Do you want to talk about it when we get to my place?" She whispered.

He looked her in her brown eyes. His began brimming with tears before he nodded and blinked them away.

\---

AS SOON AS THE KIDS RETURNED BACK TO DUSTIN AND JENNY'S HOUSE, THEY ALL PILED INTO THE LIVING ROOM. Dustin and Lucas were engrossed by the ginger girl whom Jenny learned was named Max. Mike pouted, hating the idea of another girl in the group that wasn't Eleven. Will stayed silent, especially after his episode.

Jenny gently grabbed Steve's hand, pulling him towards the back room, her bedroom. As they grew closer and closer to her room, tears built up in his eyes as he recalled the nights events.

As soon as she closed her bedroom door, Steve's arms wrapped around her waist. Sobs broke through his throat as he cried into her chest. Jenny's heart broke as she gently rocked him back and forth and ran her fingers through his hair. She hummed 'Hey Jude' by The Beatles in an attempt to calm him down.

She slowly guided him to sit on her bed. Immediately, he lied his head on her lap as he sobbed more. The two stayed there for what seemed like forever. Soon, Steve's sobs began calming down. "Do you want to talk about it?" Jenny asked.

"She doesn't love me. She never did." He mumbled against her orange dress. "She said it was all bullshit. I don't know... Maybe she's right."

The girl sighed as she ran her hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Steve. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

"She's probably with Jonathan now." He spat with anger.

"Steve, hush. I know you're angry," Jenny scolded lightly, "but the girl didn't love you the way you thought you loved her. If she's with Jonathan, then she's following her heart. You wouldn't want someone restricting you from the person you truly loved."

"You're on her side?" Steve shot up from the bed. Tears stained his cheeks as he glared at his best friend.

"I'm not on anyone's side, Steve-"

"You're my best friend, Jen! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"You're right, I am your best friend. I'm not your yes man and I'm not going to tell you what you want to hear sometimes. I'm going to tell you the truth." Jenny crossed her arms over her chest with a scowl on her face. "Now, if you fell in love with another girl while dating Nancy, would you want to stay with Nancy just to spare her feelings or would you rather go get the girl you truly love? You can't just stop her heart from going places because you thought you felt something with her."

The question made Steve pause. Would he? Would he break up with Nancy to be with the girl he loved? But he loved Nancy. Didn't he? Could he ever love another girl without thinking about the fateful Halloween night of 1984?

"I'm sorry," he mumbled before slumping back onto the bed.

Jenny's eyes turned from scowling to guilt. "I'm sorry that it seemed like I am taking Nancy's side. I'm not, I'm really pissed off, actually. But I can't bring myself to be rude to her for following what she wants."

"I don't want you to be rude to her. She doesn't deserve that." Steve covered his face with his hands. "You're right, Jen. I just... It hurts." He pushed himself back up to a sitting position.

"I know, babe," she mumbled and pulled him into another hug, "I'm sorry that this happened to you. You're an amazing guy and you're gonna meet an amazing girl who loves you more than anything on this earth."

Steve didn't respond. The two sat silent for hours before drifting off to sleep.


	12. the three times the villain attempts to win the girl and the one time he succeeds

HIS EYES WATCHED HER READ. He bit his bottom lip as she turned the page and ran a hand through her long, brown hair. In his mind, he imagined running his fingers through that hair, pulling it as she moaned his name and dug her fingernails into his back. A scowl crossed his face as he watched Steve Harrington approach the girl and sit next to her. It was obvious to him that she had feelings for the former popular boy. It was equally obvious that the boy reciprocated her feelings.

Without wasting anymore time, Billy threw the door of the library open, making a dramatic entrance. All eyes were now on him. His goal was clear and obvious. Nothing would stand in his way, not even the wannabe King of Hawkins High.

A smirk formed on his face as he approached the two. "Hey, Jen," he greeted, "what say you and I head out of here and have a little 'reading' session of our own?"

"Billy, sweetie," the way her mouth formed the word made Steve sick to his stomach, "can you do me a big favor?" Her sickly sweet smile made him grit his teeth. The way Billy's eyes roamed over her body angered him more than any word could describe.

"Of course, babe."

Her slim fingers wrapped around his collar, pulling him close. Their noses nearly touched and her warm, minty breath hit his face. "Fuck off," she gently whispered before shoving him back.

"Oh, c'mon, baby," he purred, leaning back towards her, "I bet you're a freak under that bullshit good girl exterior."

"Hey, man," Steve shot up from his seat, immediately defensive, "you heard the lady. Fuck off."

Billy let out a scoff before chuckling. "What, you're her lapdog now? Goody two shoes Wheeler dumped your ass and now you're pining for a rebound?"

"Billy, don't you have blow-up doll to fuck? Because there can't be a chance in hell you're sticking your dick in a living, breathing girl." Jenny commented, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Harrington boy let out a laugh as Billy stormed out of the library, muttering about how she was a dumb slut. "Holy shit, Henderson." Steve breathed as he turned to his best friend.

\---

A HAND SLAMMED AGAINST THE LOCKER NEXT TO HERS. A large smile grew on her face at the boy who stood next to her. After closing her locker, the smile immediately dropped. It was not the expected Steve Harrington that stood before her, but Billy Hargrove with his signature smirk.

"Well, well, well, looking for someone, Jen?"

"It's Jenny." She responded. "Yes, I'm looking for an actual decent person to talk to." As she turned to walk away, his other hand slammed onto the opposite side of her. His arms trapped her only inches away from him.

"C'mon, Jenny," he smirked, leaning closer, "I know you're just putting all of this up as a show."

His eyes raked over her small frame. The girl was at least a head and a half shorter than him, meaning Steve had to be a good two heads taller than the girl. He rather enjoyed the dominance he felt as he stood over the girl. The intimidation factor gave him a rush. Maybe it was the same rush of power his father felt when he slapped him around.

"Billy, here's an idea. Maybe it's not an act. And I genuinely don't like being around you."

"What's so wrong with me?"

"More than I can name in the time I'm going to be around you." She sneered before shoving him back and walking away. He bit his bottom lip as he watched her walk away.

\---

SHE FLUNG HER LOCKER OPEN, SIGHING DEEPLY AT THE CLUTTER. Papers scattered everywhere and crammed into spaces they shouldn't be. It had been like that nearly all year. Usually after the second week of classes, it had become drastically messy.

"These are some nice poems you got here, Jen."

Her hand balled into a fist at the voice. The ruffling of papers caught her attention as the words registered in her mind. She whipped around to see him holding three or four poems she had written.

"You should probably make it a little less obvious on who it's about."

"And who do you think it's about, William?"

"Ouch, full name." He chuckled as he leaned his back against her locker. "Well, I really, really wish they were about me. I mean, the way you talk about Harrington is just-"

"Fuck off, Hargrove." Her hand snatched the papers out of his hands. "Mind your own fuckin' business."

"Ouch, someone really did shove a stick up your ass."

"Back off before I shove it up yours."

"That's a real kinky thing to say for such a prude."

"I'm not a prude!"

"From what I've seen, yes, you are!"

"Maybe not all girls want to fuck you!"

"Maybe," Billy shrugged his arms, "But you're not one of those girls."

\---

A NOTE WAS TAPED ONTO HER FAVORITE NOTEBOOK. Her name was written in sloppy handwriting on the front of the folded paper. Her eyebrow peaked up.

She slowly opened the note to see the sloppy handwritten note. 'I know you hate me, but I'd really like the chance to change your opinion of me. - Billy'

A scoff escaped her throat. As the bell rang for classes to begin, she noticed Billy leaning against his locker, glancing up at her every now and then. The girl marched over towards the Hargrove and slammed the note into his chest. "Fine, Hargrove. You really want to get a date out of me? You got your wish. No shit, either. No trying to get into my pants and no trying to get me to spill secrets about myself or Steve. Actually convince me that you're a good person."

If anyone looked closely enough, they could see that his eyes lit up slightly. "I don't think you'll be disappointed, Jen." His smirk was practically contagious as it began to form on her face.

"It's Jenny."


	13. a date that could break a friendship

HIS THUMBS TWIDDLED AWKWARDLY AS HE LIED ON HER BED. His eyes gazed around the pale green room of Jenny Henderson, his best friend. Or was she more than that? Lately, his mind had been more than confused.

Did he, Steven Andrew Harrington, have a crush on his best friend, Jennifer Sue Henderson?

His eyes slowly closed in an attempt to drown out the faint sound of Jenny's shower running. His throat tightened and his heart raced at the image of her walking out of the bathroom, still wet and clean.

Steve took a deep breath as he attempted to clear his thoughts. It felt wrong to think of Jenny in that way. She was his best friend; they even had necklaces to say so. He couldn't see her as more than that. Jenny would never look at him in that way.

Then again, she always seemed off as soon as he started dating Nancy. She seemed to distance herself slightly, but he could tell that it hurt her to try to stop hanging out with him. And, if he were being honest, it hurt him too. It hurt him to think about his best friend leaving him and not being there for him.

His mind lingered back to Halloween night. The tears that poured down his face as her arms held him tightly. It would have been absolutely embarrassing if it were anyone else. There was Steve Harrington, King of Hawkins High, sobbing uncontrollably in the arms of Jennifer Henderson.

The Harrington boy imagined if he weren't friends with the Henderson girl. He imagined who he would have cried to on Halloween night. Certainly not Tommy or any of his old friends.

In that moment, as he had cried into her lap, he realized how lucky he was to have Jenny in his life. Without her, he didn't know what he would've done. He would've gone home and cried and been berated by his father. But that didn't happen. What actually happened that night was that Jenny made him smile and have fun with the group of kids she watched over like a mother.

His heart practically leaped when he heard the shower shut off. "Hey Steve," she called from the closed door of the bathroom, "can you hand me those clothes on the chair?" His eyes immediately darted to the wooden chair that held a few layers of folded clothes.

Steve stood up and grabbed the clothes; his breath caught in his throat as he noticed the beige bra in the middle of the clothing stack. The door cracked open as he handed her the set of clothes. "So, what's this for again?"

"Uh... well..." She trailed off. Steve could tell she was nervous to tell him. "It's uh... It's for a date. Well, kind of a date. I think. I don't really know what it is."

It felt like his heart had dropped ten feet. "With who?"

There was only silence. The door flung open to a full clothed Jenny with her hair in a towel. "Uh... Okay, if I tell you, you can't be angry."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and worry over the name she would utter.

"It's uh... It's Billy Hargrove-"

"What?!" He shouted as he shot up from the bed. "Are you fucking kidding me?" The level of his anger has skyrocketed. Billy fucking Hargrove was on the path to destroying his life. While Steve could care less about if he lost his spot as King of Hawkins High, he was livid at the idea of the asshole taking advantage of his best friend. "Why the hell would you ever agree to date that asshole?"

A sigh escaped Jenny's lips. She knew he would react like this. "Steve, nothing will happen between Billy and I. This is to get him off my back and get him to stop asking me out." Her hand gently gripped his shoulder. "Now, how do I look?"

A small smile grew on his face. "You look gorgeous, Jen." The same sigh emitted from Steve. His hands cupped her face as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and pulled her into an embrace. "Just be careful. I don't want to have to kick his ass, but I won't hesitate to do it. Just say the word."

Jenny chuckled against his chest as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head.

The door flung open. A small Dustin Henderson stood in the doorway; his eyes were wide and alarmed. "Guys! Stop making out! Billy frickin' Hargrove is here."

"Yeah, I know." Jenny responded as she pulled out of Steve's hug. "I'm going on a uh... We're gonna hang out."

"You're dating that asshole?!"

"No! Oh my god, Steve explain it to him. I have to go." She quickly kissed Steve's cheek before ruffling Dustin's hair. "I love you guys and please don't get into trouble."

The younger Henderson awkwardly shifted on his feet. "So, you wanna play Clue?"

"Hell yeah."


	14. the dreadful date of jennifer henderson

AS HE WATCHED THE CAR PULL AWAY, ALL HE WANTED WAS TO RUN OUT THERE AND PULL HER OUT OF THE CAR. He wished it was him, much to his dismay, that was picking Jenny up for a date. He wished that he was the one that Jenny was getting dressed up for. He wished that he didn't have to watch Billy motherfucking Hargrove pull away with gir- best friend.

"So," Dustin dragged out, "are we gonna play Clue or are you gonna stare at the road and hope Jen comes back and confesses her love to you?"

"Shut up, Dustin," Steve mumbled before sitting on the carpeted floor of the Jenny's bedroom. "Is your mom home?"

"Yeah, she's downstairs with Mews. Pretty sure she loves that cat more than she loves me."

"Probably," Steve shrugged before rolling the dice.

\---

"SO, HARGROVE," Jenny crossed her arms over her chest, "what do you have planned for tonight?"

A smirk crossed his face as he pushed further on the gas pedal. It was obvious that they were exceeding 70 miles per hour, which happened to be 20 miles over the legal speed limit. Jenny discreetly gripped the right side of the seat tightly. "Why do you hang around that Harrington guy anyway?"

"He's my friend and I thought I made it very clear that I wasn't going to give you any dirt on Steve."

"Who said I wanted dirt on Harrington?"

"Well, I highly doubt you actually care about why him and I are friends other than trying to find a way to exploit that."

"Jennifer, you wound me dearly," He smirked even wider. His eyes wandered over Jenny's form, biting his bottom lip at the faint crease of her cleavage that was showing out of the light yellow sundress. Her eyes turned and met his for a split second. She noticed where his eyes were lingering and began to immediately regret her decision to come on this date. Her fingers gripped her gray cardigan tightly. "I was thinking we could head to the theater and see Nightmare on Elm Street."

"Really? I loved- I really wanted to see that movie." In truth, she had already seen it the prior week with Steve.

"You've already seen it, haven't you?"

"No!" Jenny exclaimed, not wanting to ruin any friendly air that hadn't already been ruined by Billy staring at her chest. "I swear, I haven't."

"It's fine if you have. I'm sure they're still playing Ghostbusters-"

"No! Dustin and the boys made me take them to see that at least five times." Jenny giggled to herself, reminiscing on the excitement that Dustin and the boys displayed as they watched the movie.

Without her knowledge, Billy rolled his eyes. He couldn't stand kids, especially not the ones Jenny associated with. 'The things I do to get laid,' he thinks to himself. As the two pull up to the theater, Jenny immediately unbuckles her seat belt and pulls on her cardigan. She pulled it tightly against her body, trying to cover as much skin as she could.

It was going to be a long night.

\---

"YOU'RE CHEATING," Steve exclaimed at Dustin, "you have to be."

"How would I cheat at this?"

"I mean, you're the one shuffling cards-"

"You're the one picking the cards that go in the middle!"

"And yet I keep losing!"

"I'm sorry you suck!" Dustin laughed. Steve couldn't help but smile along. It made him smile that both of the Henderson siblings had similar laughs. "Do you want to play a different game?"

"What else you got?"

"We got Scrabble and Pictionary."

"Oh, I'm gonna kick your ass at Scrabble." Steve chuckled as Dustin grabbed the box.

"You can't seriously think that." Dustin settled back into the floor as he pulled out the Scrabble board. "My mom makes Jenny and I play with her all of the time. You're about to get beat by a 13 year old."

"In your dreams, Henderson." Steve let out another laugh. He glanced at his watch to see that it had only been an hour since Jenny had embarked on her date with... that guy.

"Do you think that she's gonna actually date him?"

"Who, Jenny and Billy? No way in hell she'd date him."

"You sure about that?"

Steve twiddled his thumbs. Was he sure?

\---

JENNY AWKWARDLY TWIDDLED HER THUMBS IN THE THEATER. She glanced over at Billy's, who's arm was loosely draped over shoulders. As much as she knew she shouldn't, she imagined it was Steve who had his arm around her shoulders. She imagined it was Steve who was wanting to take her out and be with her.

But it wasn't Steve.

Billy's arm lifted off of her shoulders. This didn't seem odd until she felt his hand rest on her upper thigh. Her body stiffened under the touch. Jenny's hand gently attempted to push his off, but to no avail. His hand remained on her thigh, even going so far as to begin to venture further up.

"Stop," she whispered. The boy didn't listen as his hand moved under her dress. Her hand gripped his wrist tightly, stopping any movement. "Get your disgusting hand off of me, Billy Hargrove."

"Jeez, I was just messin' around."

"Well, maybe I don't want to mess around."

"I thought you weren't a prude."

"I thought maybe, just maybe, you weren't a disgusting cunt." She hissed before standing up and marching out of the theater.

Billy scoffed, letting her leave. Fuck her.

Jenny picked up the payphone that was just outside the theater. She dialed her house phone. "Hello?" Her sweet mother answered.

"Hey, Mom. It's Jen. Is Steve still there?"

"Oh! Hi, baby! How was your date?"

"It was fine. Mom, please, is Steve there? I really need to talk to him."

"Oh! I think so. Let me check." After a few seconds of silence, another voice came through.

"Jen?"

"Steve?"

"Yeah, hey. What's wrong?"

"I just... Can you come pick me up from the movie theater?"

"Yeah! Of course, I'll be there right away."

With that, the two hung up. Jenny waited outside the theater, holding her sweater close to her shivering body. "Jen! What the fuck?"

"It's Jennifer to you."

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"You are my fucking problem!"

The sound of a car pulling up cut them off. Steve jumped out of the car and marched up to Billy. "Is there a problem here?"

"Yeah, I got a prude and a prick in my face." Billy growled.

"Back the fuck off of Jen."

"Maybe if your bitch wasn't such a fucking tease-"

Steve shocked him harshly. "Fuck. Off. Hargrove."

Billy fumed as he stared at Jenny and Steve. "Fuck both of you. I don't need to fight over some dumb whore." With that, Billy stormed off to his car. Steve attempted to go after him but was stopped by Jenny.

"Just leave it, okay?" She had whispered to Steve as his fists balled. "Fuck him."

Steve slowly nodded. She turned to look at Jenny. "You wanna go out to eat? I mean, you're all dolled up and nowhere to go."

A smile grew on Jenny's face. She quickly nodded. "That sounds like a great idea."


	15. dart henderson

HE TOOK DEEP, NERVOUS BREATHS AS HE WONDERED HOW HE WAS GOING TO APPROACH JENNY. He entered the living room where she sat on the sofa; her legs were propped up on the coffee table as she read the book 'Christine' by Stephen King. "Uh... Jen?" His voice cracked.

"Yes, Dustin?" She turned her attention to her younger brother. After closing her book, she noticed something was off. "What did you do?"

"Uh... well..."

"Dustin!"

"You can't get mad at me!" He yelled back at her. "You have to pinkie promise."

A sigh escaped her lips as she wrapped her slim pinkie around his small one. "Fine, whatever. What did you do?"

"Just uh... Just follow me."

The young boy leads her to his bedroom. She immediately recoils at the smell of something rotting. "Jesus, Dustin! Did you take a shit in here or something? Jeez-" Her mind blanked when the dismembered body of Mews lied in his closet. "What the fuck? Dustin! Did you do this?! What the fuck-"

"It was Dart!" He yelled back at her.

"Who the fuck is Dart?"

"He's uh... He's-"

"Spit it out!"

"I don't know what he is! I found him and I felt bad so I kept him in the tank and now he's gone and he ate Mews and Mom is gonna be so mad!"

"Ya think?!"

Dustin rubbed his eyes as tears began building up. Jenny's heart dropped as he sat on his bed and began quietly crying into his hands. His older sister approached him, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry for yelling, Dust. It's just... This is a lot to take in. We can't let Mom know." She gently pulls his hands away and wipes his tears away. "Let's go beat that little shit."

\---

DUSTIN HID INSIDE THE SHED RIGHT OUTSIDE THE HOUSE AS HE WATCHED JENNY GEAR UP WITH STEVE'S NAIL-FILLED BASEBALL BAT. "You don't have to do this." He told her in a voice loud enough for her and only her to hear.

"Dustin, shut up."

He immediately became quiet. Both of the Henderson children tensed as Dart made his way out the door. Jenny took a deep breath before whistling and grabbing Dart's attention. "C'mon, you son of a bitch!" She shouted.

The creature looked up at her. It growled slightly before running towards her. Her breathing quickened and her entire body froze. Dustin noticed this and immediately burst out the door. He slammed his hockey stick into Dart, flinging it into the cellar. Both of the Hendersons slammed the door shut just before Dart could run up and slam into the doors. "Holy shit," Jenny whispered, "you're badass, Dustin." She held her fist up, giving him a fist bump.

"What do we do now?" He breathed heavily.

"You go get Mike-"

"But-"

"Just go get him, Dustin!"

The young boy nodded before running off. Jenny let out a deep sigh before lying on the cellar doors. Exhaustion had hit her full force. She looked around the yard to see a torn book sitting a few yards away from her.

Jenny hesitantly lifted herself off of the doors. When nothing happened, she quickly grabbed the book and sat back down on the doors. Her mood dropped as she stared at the tattered remains of her Cujo book. It was her father's favorite book that he had given her before he passed away.

\---

AS HE GRIPPED THE BOUQUET OF FLOWERS TIGHTLY, HE APPROACHED THE WHEELER HOUSE. "'I've been thinking, I'm sorry, but I'm in love with my best friend.' I'm sorry? What the hell am I sorry for?" Steve mumbled to himself as he approached the house.

A small body slammed into his. "Steve! You have to come with me!" The young boy darted towards Steve's car, bouquet in hand. "Now!"

"Now? Why now? Where's Jen? Why are you here?"

"I don't have time for your questions or your former love life! Let's go! Jenny needs us!" He knew that would get Steve's attention. The younger boy threw the flowers into the back seat as Steve jumped into the drivers seat. "What am I going to do with these flowers?"

"Just give them to Jenny. You've already given her like 8 bouquets anyway."

His eyes darted back and forth between the road and Dustin. He had no idea what to even say to break the awkward silence. As he opened his mouth to speak, Dustin shot out a question. "When are you going to ask my sister out?"

"Uh... What?"

"Never mind. Look, there's this... thing that I found. At first, I thought it was a frog or something so I kept it. It got bigger and now it's in my cellar."

"Are you sure it's not a lizard?"

"A lizard?!" Dustin snapped. "Lizards don't open their faces up and eat my cat!"

Steve stayed silent, nodding his head in agreement. The two returned to their awkward silence.

"Do you like my sister?"

The grip on the steering wheel tightened as his face turned blood red. He hesitated before answering, "Yeah, she's cool."

"Not like a friend."

"Well, I mean-" Steve started but Dustin quickly cut him off.

"I think she wants you to ask her out."

"What uh... What makes you say that?"

The young boy shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, she always listens to that mix tape you made her and she always wears that necklace you gave her."

"That doesn't mean she wants to date me."

"Just trust me, okay?!" Dustin exclaimed loudly.

"Yeah, I'll trust you as soon as Hell freezes over."


	16. horror movie extraordinaire

THE GIRL STARED UP AT THE STARS, MAKING SHAPES OUT OF THEM. Her thumbs twiddled together. She was bored as hell and wondered where the hell Dustin was. The sound of a car pulling up caused her heart to stop. Was it their mother? No, it couldn't be. She was working overtime. "Jen?" The voice of Steve Harrington called.

"What?" She whispered to herself as she pushed herself off of the cellar doors. The girl turned to see her younger brother and best friend approaching her. "Uh... this isn't Mike. And what the hell took you so long?"

"I don't know where Mike is, but I found Steve." Dustin's shrug elicited a chuckle from both of the teenagers.

Steve greeted Jenny with a large smile. "Hey, Jen," he quietly whispered.

"You were at the Wheeler house? I take it you and Nancy made up?" It was a difficult task to cover up her disappointed tone. After the rescue he made for her during her date with Billy, part of her hoped that maybe, just maybe, he had feelings for her. Steve had taken her out to eat and treated her like a princess. Now that she thought on it, it was most likely just the protective best friend in him coming out and showing that he cared about her. Probably nothing more than that.

"What?" His eyebrows furrowed. "No, I uh..." he trailed off, not knowing how to finish his sentence. There was no way in Hell he could tell Jenny that he went to break up with Nancy because he wanted to confess his undying love for his best friend, Jenny Henderson. "I went to break up with her officially."

With that, her brown eyes lit up. Wait, no. That shouldn't happen. Her best friend just broke up with the girl he claimed to love. She shouldn't be happy. God, she was the shittiest and most selfish person alive. Fuck. "Oh? I'm sorry, Steve."

"Don't be." He smiled before pressing a kiss to her forehead. The contact felt searing and warm and tingly. Her cheeks grew hot as well as the rest of her body at the touch.

It was then that Jenny noticed how quiet Dustin had been. She turned to see her younger brother staring at the cellar doors. "Dust?"

"It's quiet."

"Yeah, I haven't heard anything for a few hours." Jenny approached the doors, Steve closely behind.

"Is that my bat?" He asked, nodding to the bat full of nails in Jenny's hands. "I can't believe you still have that."

She shrugged her shoulders, a small smile on her lips. Her cheeks stayed a pale pink the more they made eye contact. "Never know when a Demogorgon will show up next."

"Demodog." Dustin stated.

"What?"

"Demodog," he nodded towards the cellar doors, "that's what Mike and them called Dart. A Demodog."

The two teenagers nodded in slight understanding. "I guess it's time we check it out," Jenny told Steve as she moved to grab the handles to the cellar doors. A hand reached out and gripped her upper arm before she could open the doors. Her eyes lifted to meet the concerned ones of Steve.

"I can lead."

"You want to lead the way into a dark basement in the middle of the night where a man-eating monster resides?"

Steve's eyes filled with fear as they shifted between her and the cellar doors. He visibly swallowed the lump that formed in his throat to calm his nerves. "Yeah, I'll lead." He finally forced himself to speak.

Jenny rolled her eyes before stepping to the side to let Steve lead the way into the cellar. As much as she didn't want to, she had to pull her arm out of his grip. "What are you waiting for?" She whispered when she noticed that he hadn't moved an inch.

With a deep breath, Steve flung the doors open. His grip around the yellow-handled flashlight tightened. It illuminated the stairs of the cellar in an eerie way. If anyone were to ask, Jenny would tell them that she felt like she was in a horror movie. She felt like the stupid protagonist that goes into the basement when everything clearly points to the need to run away.

As the two teenagers took deep breaths, they slowly made their way down the stairs. Their free hands laced together tightly as fear crept up in the back of their minds. They shared a nervous glance before continuing to the bottom of the stairs. The flashlight dimly lit the empty cellar.

"Oh, fuck," Jenny whispered as she stared towards the far wall, "looks like Dart darted out of here." She chuckled quietly. "I've been thinking about that one for an hour."

Dustin stomped down the stairs so quickly that he ran into Steve and fell onto his butt. His eyes widened as he stared at the large hole ripped into the wall. "Oh, shit," he whispered, "he evolved."

The three approached the hole to see a slimy substance covering the broken bricks. A thin layer of skin was sprayed out on the concrete floor in front of the hole.

"Shit." They all whispered.

\---

"YOU SHOULD JUST STAY THE NIGHT," she handed Steve one of his gym sweatshirts that he had let her borrow in the past and a pair of gray sweatpants that used to be her dad's, "it'll be easier than you driving all night."

"What about Dart?"

"We'll start fresh tomorrow morning."

"Let's hope he doesn't get too far."

Jenny grabbed a shirt and gym shorts and entered her bathroom.

Steve pulled of his red sweatshirt. As he looked over the dirt stains, he grimaced. Before he could cringe anymore, he tossed the dirty shirt in Jenny's laundry basket. He unbuckled his brown leather belt and pulled his jeans off. In the back of his mind, he prayed Jenny didn't walk out of that bathroom as he stood in nothing but his navy blue and white striped boxers.

After quickly pulling on the sweatpants, the bathroom door opened. Jenny entered her bedroom, meeting eyes with a shirtless Steve. "Shit, I'm sorry." She apologized, averting her gaze to her bare feet.

"Uh..." Steve froze. His eyes were wide and his cheeks were bright red. "It's uh... It's cool." He shrugged, attempting to maintain whatever sense of cool he had left. He quickly pulled on the sweatshirt and cleared his throat.

"Do you wanna go watch a movie? Dustin is dead asleep on the sofa so we can watch The Exorcist." Jenny smiled when Steve's eyes visibly lit up.

"You got it on VHS?" He was shocked. "How much did that even cost?"

"Around $65." Jenny chuckled. "It's the only movie we have. Mom loved it."

The two teenagers made their way to the empty living room. She pushed in the VHS before flipping off the lights and cuddling into Steve's side on the couch across from the one Dustin was on. "Don't piss your pants, Harrington."

"Don't piss yours, Henderson."

As the movie started, his breath hitched in his throat as arms slid around his waist. His body slowly relaxed as Jenny's head rested against his shoulder. His arm draped across her, grabbing one of the quilts and pulling it over them.

Their fingers laced together and settled against Jenny's hip. As the opening music began to play, Jenny and Steve smiled to themselves, perfectly content and oblivious to anything outside of the little living room.


	17. farrah fawcett hairspray

"NO, YOU TWO SHOULD GO AHEAD." Jenny smiled at her two boys. In her heart, she trusted Steve to look out for Dustin. She knew that he cared for Dustin as much as she did. Nodding over by the car, Jenny and Steve talked alone while Dustin talked to Lucas over the radio.

"You sure you're gonna be alright splitting up? What if you run into him?" Steve asked. The worried expression and tone warmed Jenny's heart as she looked up at her boyfriend- err... best friend.

"I'll be fine, Steve," she giggled, eliciting a smile onto Steve's face, "trust me. I have a radio that's on the same channel as Dustin's. If I see it, I'll call."

A sigh escaped past his lips. He visibly swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. After slowly nodding, Steve gave her a small smile. "Be careful, Jen."

The two stayed in their spots, staring up at each other. There was something missing, but they couldn't put their finger on it. Jenny wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled Steve into a tight hug. She balled his black shirt into her fists as she buried her nose into the crook of his neck.

The tip of her nose was cold from the chilly autumn air. His arms wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close. As the two stood there in silence, he inhaled her scent of oranges.

When they pulled back, Jenny's hands remained gripping his shirt tightly. They stared up at each other. Steve's hands slowly moved from her shoulders up to her cheeks. His thumbs gently caressed her cheekbones.

"No, Lucas!" Dustin's voice was heard from behind the car. "I can't ruin their moment."

A chuckle escaped Jenny's throat. "I think Dustin wants us to hurry up," she whispered.

"Yeah," he whispered back, chuckling with her. His eyes darted back and forth between her eyes and her lips. What was stopping him from kissing her right now? He had the perfect opportunity to pull her into a deep kiss and never let her go.

"Good luck." She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. It was immediately noticeable that the kiss was dangerously close to the corner of his lips. "Dustin," she called, walking around the car to meet up with her younger brother, "I know that you already know this, but please stay with Steve. And if you guys see anything, call me." She motioned towards the radio she had in her hand. "If I see him, I'll call you so keep your ears open."

Dustin nodded along, listening closely to her words. The two siblings hugged briefly. "Keep him safe, Harrington." She pointed Steve, a small smile growing on her face.

Jenny watched as the two boys grabbed the buckets of raw meat and begin their descent into the forest. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat before turning around, grabbing the bucket full of meat, and waking into the woods south of Dustin and Steve.

\---

THE CRISP AND CHILLY AIR SENT A SHIVER DOWN STEVE'S SPINE. Birds could be heard chirping happily in the trees above them, unaware of the horror that the two boys were on the look for. The silence between them was a mix between awkward and comfort.

"So, let me get this straight," Steve broke the silence, "you kept something that you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who you just met?"

Dustin huffed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, that's grossly oversimplifying things."

"Why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?"

"Jen would like it! She would think it was cool... if it hadn't... eaten Mews." Dustin trailed off.

"Well, Jen isn't like every girl. She's... different."

"Look, it's an inter-dimensional slug and it's awesome!" The young boy laughed.

"Even if she thought it was cool, which she didn't," Steve tossed meat onto the railroad track, "I just feel like you're trying way too hard."

"Oh," Dustin scoffed and stopped in his tracks, "that's coming from the boy practical fawning over my sister."

Steve rolled his eyes as he stopped next to Dustin. "I am not fawning."

"Whatever." Dustin mumbled as they continued walking.

The two fell into another silence.

"So," Dustin cringed as he watched Steve throw some raw meat onto the railroad track, "do you think Jen is mad at me? For Dart?"

"Did she say she was?"

"No-"

"Then she's not." Steve shrugged. "Jen's very forward, you should know that. If she's mad, she'll tell you."

"Yeah, but," Dustin frowned, "still. It just feels like she's mad at me."

"Girls are... confusing, at best." The older boy threw more meat onto the ground as they continued their walk down the abandoned railroad tracks. "But Jen, she's not. She tells you how she feels."

"So, she's told you that she likes you?"

Steve's head snapped towards Dustin. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he shrugged, "if she tells you how she feels, then she told you that she likes you."

"She doesn't like me, Dustin. We're just," Steve trailed off, "friends."

Dustin rolled his eyes, finding it useless to try to convince him. Why were teenagers so difficult? It was so obvious that the two liked each other. Why couldn't they just admit it and move on? It wasn't that complicated.

"So," Steve started, "this girl-"

"Look, not everyone can have your perfect hair, alright?" Dustin snapped.

"It's not about the hair, man," Steve playfully shoved Dustin. "The key to girls is just... acting like you don't care."

"Even if you do?"

"Yeah, exactly. It drives them nuts." Steve shrugged.

"Then what?"

"Then you just wait until uh... until you feel it." He tapped Dustin's shoulder, smirking along the way.

Dustin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Feel what?"

"It's like before it's gonna storm, y'know?" Steve explained poorly. "You can't see it, but you can feel it. There's this uh... electricity."

"You mean the electromagnetic fields when the clouds in the atmosphere-"

"No, no, no, no." Steve interrupted the young boy. "Like a sexual electricity."

"Oh!" Dustin's face contorted to understanding. It quickly turned to disgust.

"You feel that, and then you make your move."

"So... you haven't felt that with Jenny?"

"Why do you keep bringing this back to Jen?" Steve asked in an irritated tone. He didn't mind talking about Jenny, but talking about his feelings for Jenny with her younger brother? That was a no-go.

"Because! If you don't make your move than Billy fuckin' Hargrove is!" Dustin snapped. His annoyance with Steve's obliviousness began to grow tenfold.

"Billy doesn't have a chance in Hell with her. She's better than him and he knows it." Steve mumbled, glaring down at the meat he threw onto the ground. "Back to the point, some girls want you to be aggressive. But others, you gotta be slow. You gotta be stealthy... like a ninja."

"What type is Nancy?"

"Nancy is..." Steve trailed off. He didn't feel right answering that. It felt like... It felt like he didn't even know Nancy anymore. Nancy felt like a distant memory that slowly began to fade away. She felt like the wool that covered his eyes and made him blind to those around him. It made him blind to his best friend, who handled all of his bullshit. He winced; even the thought of the word elicited pain. "Jenny's different. She... deserves someone who loves her, someone who will put her first and show her that she really does matter. She deserves happiness and someone who can give her that every moment she's awake."

"Steve."

"Yeah?"

"I asked about Nancy."

"Yeah, didn't I say Nancy?"

A small smile grew on Dustin's face. "You said Jenny."

A deep red blush covered Steve's face. "Anyway, back to this girl."

"She's just... she's special." Dustin shrugged. "There's just something about her."

"Whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey," Steve stopped in his tracks as he grabbed Dustin's arm to stop him, "you're not fallin' in love with this girl, are you?"

"No, no." Dustin shook his head.

"Okay, good." Steve began walking again. "Don't. She's only gonna break your heart and you're way too young for that shit." Memories of Halloween night plagued him once again. Nancy's drunken insults, his tears, Jenny's singing, Jenny's warm bed, Jenny's soft arms, Jenny's kind eyes, Jenny's- fuck.

The older teenager turned and looked at the dejected boy. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat before speaking. "Faberge."

Dustin furrowed his eyebrows as he looked up at Steve.

His index finger pointed up at his hair. "It's Faberge Organics. Use the shampoo and the conditioner and when your hair's damp - not wet - do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray."

The boy held in a laugh as he walked alongside his sister's crush. "Farrah Fawcett spray?"

Steve stopped and turned to Dustin. "Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. You tell anyone I just told you that, your ass is grass. You're dead. You understand that, Henderson?"

Dustin nodded. They stood in silence.

"Hey guys?" Jenny's voice came across the radio set on Dustin. "Maybe we should meet back up at the car or something? Just regroup and move on together."

"Jen?" Dustin answered. "We'll meet you at the car. Steve uses Farrah Fawcett spray."

"He told you that? I thought it was his mom's." Jenny chuckled.

Steve's eyes widened as he watched the boy turn around and begin running away. "You fucker." He mumbled and ran after him.

He never knew how he was going to live down the embarrassment of this.


	18. come back to me, harrington

"OH YEAH." Steve nodded as he observed the broken and abandoned bus. His eyes glanced over at Jenny, who was wearing his green jacket. "This'll do." He took off his sunglasses as he approached the bus. "Good call, dude." He told Dustin, who practically lit up at the compliment.

Jenny smiled widely at her younger brother and gave him a fist bump before following Steve. The two boys continued tossing meat onto the ground leading up to the bus. A smirk grew on Steve's face when he noticed Jenny look at the raw meat in disgust. With a chunk of meat in hand, he tossed it, hitting Jenny square on the forehead.

"You asshole!" She squealed and chased after him. Steve dropped the bucket and wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up. "I don't associate with jerks who throw disgusting meat at me."

Dustin dumped the bucket of meat onto the ground in front of the bus.

"I said medium well!" The familiar voice of Lucas Sinclair shouted as he waved at the trio.

Dustin's expression dropped when he noticed the girl of his dreams, Max Mayfield, standing next to his best friend.

"Isn't that the one chick from Halloween? She dressed up as Michael Myers." Steve asked as he placed Jenny back onto the ground. Subconsciously, his arms stayed wrapped around Jenny's waist, holding her close. He looked over at Dustin to see his dejected expression. His eyes widened as he realized that she was the girl Dustin had been talking about.

"Lucas, can we talk?" Dustin asked his best friend. The two boys went behind one of the junked cars and began talking in hushed tones.

"Hey, Max," Jenny smiled.

"Hey... Jen?" The name came out like a question more than a statement.

The teenager let out a chuckle and nodded. When she tried to approach the bus, she realized that Steve's arms were still firmly wrapped around her waist. "Uh... Steve? We have to barricade this bus." He nodded. "Which means you have to let me go."

His cheeks grew red as he quickly let his arms fall to his sides.

Max, Steve, and Jenny began grabbing scrap sheets of metal and began surrounding the bus with it. After a few minutes of work with no sign of Dustin and Lucas, Steve scoffed and approached the car they were talking behind. "Hey! Dickheads, how come the only one helping me out is Jennifer and this random girl? We're gonna lose light in, like 40 minutes, let's go."

The two boys ran out from behind the car, immediately helping them. Jenny crossed her arms over her chest as a smile grew on her face. "What's that smile about?" Steve asked as he carried a chair past her.

"You never call me Jennifer."

"I should. It's a pretty name."

"Okay, Steven."

The teenager visibly cringed. "Okay, I take that back."

\---

NIGHT HAD FALLEN AND THE FIVE HAD PILED INTO THE FORTIFIED BUS. Lucas had decided he could take "first watch" while everyone else waited in the bus. Steve slid down onto the floor next to Jenny, a small smile on each other's faces. Dustin paced back and forth - a nervous habit he had inherited from Mom. Max sat in one of the bus seats, her arms crossed as she stared at her red Chucks.

Her crystal blue eyes lifted up to watch as Steve showed Jenny how to work a lighter. "So," she broke the silence and grabbed the teens' attention, "you really fought one of these things before?"

He nodded. A smile spread on Jenny's face. A small part of her wished she had been able to see that, but she knew she made the right call by staying with the kids.

"And, what, you're totally 100 percent sure it wasn't a bear?"

"Shit, don't be an idiot." Dustin snapped.

"Dustin!" Jenny looked at her younger brother in shock.

"It wasn't a bear." Dustin continued his rant, not even hearing Jenny. "Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home."

Max rolled her eyes as she pushed herself off the seat. "Yeesh, someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?" She snapped as she climbed the ladder up to the roof of the bus.

"That's good." Steve spoke as soon as Max was out of earshot. "Just show her you don't care."

"Wait, what? Excuse me?" Jenny asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I don't care." Dustin mumbled. Steve looked up and winked at the boy. "Why are you winking, Steve?" The teenage boy shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but what did you tell him?" Jenny snapped at Steve, slapping his shoulder.

"I told him that it drives girls nuts when guys act like they don't care."

"That's a load of bullshit." Jenny rolled her eyes. Steve internally winced. "I can't believe you'd tell him that. Dustin, everything he said about girls is stupid and a lie. Girls hate it when you act like an asshole, just like you did right there."

"Who cares, Jen?" Dustin snapped.

"Dustin, I love you more than anything, but you're being a real Billy Hargrove right now." Jenny pushed herself up. She went to the front of the bus and took a seat in the drivers seat, annoyed and tired.

Steve closed his eyes and let his head hit the wall behind him. Fuck. Regret filled every pore of his body as the bus fell silent. Dustin pouted on the bus seat, Steve sat on the floor with a frown on his face, and Jenny sat in the driver's seat with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression settled on her face.

"Ten o'clock! I got eyes on it!" Lucas called from the roof of the bus. All three inside the bus darted towards the window, looking for the creature in the fog.

As they all noticed the monster make its way out of the fog, Jenny's hand gripped Steve's tightly. Steve looked down at Jenny. "I have to go out there." He whispered.

She glared at him and stood in his way so that he couldn't get past. "You can't go out there, it's fucking suicide."

"Jen, I have to do this. You stay here and watch the kids."

With a sigh, Jenny hesitantly moved to the side. "You better come back to me, Harrington."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before grabbing his bat.

"Steve? What are you doing?" Dustin asked with worry."

"Just get ready." He tossed his lighter to Dustin. With that, he nodded to Jenny, who opened the bus doors for him. She closed them behind him. Her heart rate skyrocketed as she ran to the window to watch him.

"He's insane," Max mumbled.

"He's awesome," Dustin chuckled.

"He's dead," Jenny whispered, gripping the sleeves of his jacket that loosely covered her. Her heart stopped as she noticed a second, third, fourth creature come out of the fog. "Steve," she whispered.

Dustin ran to the door, flinging it open. "Steve! Abort!"

Jenny watched as he slammed his bat into one of the monsters and rolled over a car to avoid another attack. He darted towards the bus and made it just in time for the door to close on one of the monsters. Steve covered the door with a sheet of metal before pushing himself up and into Jenny's arms. Their hearts raced together as they held each other tightly. "You could've fucking died, you fucking idiot," Jenny whispered into the crook of his neck.

The bus shook roughly as the monsters attacked the bus. Dustin ran over to the radio and tried to call for help as Steve beat one of the monster's arms that had pierced the metal.

Indents were made into the metal of the roof as one of the monsters stomped towards the door. Max looked up to see the face of one of the hideous creatures. She screamed loudly as Steve shoved the kids out of the way.

"You want some?" He shouted at the monster. The creature roared before turning its attention to something in the distance. It jumped off of the bus. Everything quickly grew silent once again.

Everyone shared a look, confused as to what had just happened. Steve approached the door, slowly opening it and leading the way out.

"You think we scared them off?" Dustin asked.

"No," Steve turned back to them, "they're goin' somewhere."


	19. little sister

"YOU'RE SURE THAT WAS DART?" Lucas asked Dustin as the group of five walked down the road.

"Yes, he had the same yellow pattern on his butt."

"But he was so tiny a few days ago." Max commented.

Steve noticed Jenny lagging behind the group quite a bit. He slowed his pace to meet up with her stride as the younger kids discussed what they had just witnessed. "Hey," he whispered, "what's up?"

A small smile grew on Jenny's face. "Hey," she whispered back, "I'm just... I keep thinking about what just happened."

Steve's hand gently laced together with hers. "What's on your mind?"

"A lot." She chuckled. The two's pace slowed down even more as they tried to talk. "Do you still like Nancy?"

His eyebrows furrowed. He opened his mouth to answer, but no words formed. Did he? No, he couldn't have. "No, I don't."

"Do you ever... I don't know, see yourself moving on?"

"Well, there is this one girl," his heart began to race, "she's super smart, like way too smart to even speak to me. She's the sweetest girl on this Earth. She forgives too easily. She just... She's perfect."

"Wow," Jenny nodded, "she sounds pretty amazing."

"Yeah," he whispered as he looked over her features, "she's pretty amazing. And she doesn't even love me."

"Well, it sounds like she isn't as smart as you say."

He tightened his grip around her hand. A sense of 'fuck it' came over him as he opened his mouth to speak. "Jen, I-"

"Guys! C'mon!" Lucas shouted at the teenagers. Dustin punched his arm, glaring at him for ruining their moment.

"I guess we should catch up," Jenny whispered.

"Yeah," Steve whispered back.

The two unlaced their hands and caught up with the group of younger teens. "He's already molted, like, three times."

"Molted?" Steve asked.

"He's grown," Jenny explained, earning a nod from Steve.

"So, he's only gonna get bigger."

"And he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats." Steve mumbled.

Lucas stopped in his tracks as he grabbed Dustin's arm. "Wait, cats?! Dart ate a cat?"

"No." Dustin shook his head. "What? No!"

"What are you talking about? He ate Mews-" Steve was interrupted when Jenny slammed her elbow into his side.

"Who's Mews?" Max asked.

"Dustin's cat-"

Jenny slammed her elbow into Steve once again. "Steve!" Both Henderson siblings shouted.

"I knew it!" Lucas lightly shoved Dustin. "You kept him!"

"No!" Dustin shouted. "No... no, I... no, I... He missed me. He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit!" Lucas shouted at him.

"I didn't know he was a Demogorgon!"

"Oh, so now you admit it?"

"Guys," Max interjected, "who cares? We have to go."

"I care!" Lucas shouted again. "You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!"

"SO DID YOU!" Dustin shouted so loudly that it made Jenny flinch. "You told a stranger," he pointed the flashlight in Max's face, "the truth."

"A stranger?" Max snapped.

Both Jenny and Steve made eye contact, rolling their eyes at the argument.

"You wanted to tell her, too!" Lucas yelled.

"Yeah, but I didn't, Lucas! Okay? I didn't!"

The sound of quiet howling and tree branches snapping grabbed the two older teens' attention. Steve shined his flashlight towards the noise. He instinctively pushed Jenny behind him as he began walking towards the noise.

The arguing between the trio soon became background noise as Steve and Jenny looked for the source of the noises. "Hey, guys," Steve called to deaf ears. "GUYS!" He screamed, grabbing their attention. More howling could be heard when they all fell silent. Steve lifted his bat before darting off towards the source of the noise. The entire group quickly followed after.

"Why are we heading towards the sound?" Max called. "Hello?"

Jenny stopped in her tracks. The two boys ran past to catch up to Steve, but Jenny turned around to return to Max. "C'mon, I'm not leaving you alone."

"This is insane!" Max hissed. "We shouldn't go towards the noise."

"They're boys. They're insane." Jenny shrugged and grabbed Max's hand, trying to pull her towards the direction the boys went.

"This is stupid."

"Max, just... trust me." Their eyes met. Max stared, looking for a reason to trust her. After a few seconds of silence, Max nodded and followed Jenny.

The five came out of the forest to a cliff overlooking the rest of the forest. Max's hand still held tightly to Jenny's. Neither of the girls really noticed, though.

"I don't see him," Dustin broke the silence.

Lucas pulled up his binoculars, looking out across the forest. He spotted the lab that had visibly gone dark. "It's the lab," he spoke, "they were going back home."

\---

AS THEY NEARED THE EXIT OF THE WOODS, A LOUD VOICE CALLED OUT. "Hello? Who's there?"

"Who the hell was that?" Max whispered to Jenny. The older girl shrugged.

"Hello!" The voice called again.

"No one answer." Jenny told the group. "We don't know who that could be."

Everyone stayed quiet as they grew closer to the edge of the woods. As they exited the woods, their flashlights landed on Jonathan and Nancy. "Steve?" Both of them asked in unison.

Jenny's jaw clenched tightly. Part of her still didn't forgive Nancy for Halloween night and now to see her with Jonathan Byers, it felt like she was rubbing salt in a fresh wound.

"Nancy?" He called, a little too eager for Jenny's liking.

"Jonathan?" Dustin called.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy asked as the two groups came together.

Max looked up at Jenny, noticing that Jenny's grip on her hand had tightened slightly. She'd only met Jenny once, on Halloween night, but the girl seemed so fiercely protective over her. The older teenager was more of a mom than her own birth mother. "Don't like them?" Max asked quietly.

"Not one of them." Jenny whispered back.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked.

"We're looking for Mike and Will." Nancy answered.

"They're not in there, are they?" Dustin asked, worried for his friends.

"We're not sure." Nancy responded, glancing at Jonathan.

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

Loud howling could be heard from inside the building. They all turned to look at the lab in worry and dread.

Jenny slightly pushed Max behind her, her mother hen instincts kicking in. Max had always wanted a sister, younger or older, it didn't matter to her. To feel that Jenny truly cared about her, for whatever reason, it made her feel better about her existence. To the group of boys, she was nothing but a burden. But, to Jenny, she was worth protecting. It made her smile to know that.


	20. the mind flayer

SHE GRIPPED THE GIRL'S HAND TIGHTLY. Steve, Dustin, and Jonathan all discussed a plan on what to do next. All of a sudden, all of the lights in the lab switched on.

"The power's back." Nancy pointed out to the group.

With that, they all took off running towards Jonathan's car. Jonathan ran into the guard's post, pressing the button to open the gate. When nothing happened, Dustin entered and shoved Jonathan aside. "Let me try!" He began spamming the button. "Son of a bitch," he hissed when nothing happened.

All of a sudden, the gate began opening. A large smile grew on Dustin's face. "I got it," he looked at Jenny with a wide smile. His smile brightened when Jenny gave him a thumbs up and mouthed, "good job."

Max's grip on Jenny's hand tightened as the gate slid open and the lab came fully into view. The two girls shared a look: Max's held an oppressed fear that she didn't want to be known and Jenny's held a reassuring tone that made the redhead girl feel more secure.

\---

"I'M SORRY THAT BILLY WAS AN ASSHOLE TO YOU." Max told Jenny.

Jenny let out a quiet chuckle before shaking her head. "Don't apologize. No offense, but I should've known better than to go on a date with that dick."

"You honestly should've." The two girls shared a laugh as they sat on the asphalt across from each other. Max noticed Steve glance over at Jenny every few seconds. "Do you like Steve?" She whispered so that only they could hear and scooted over to sit next to Jenny.

The older girl hesitated. She looked over at the redhead before nodding. After looking up at the boy and looking back down, a frown grew on her face. "I do, but... he likes someone else."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah, it seems like he's still into Nancy."

"Nancy? So, that's why you don't like her?"

Jenny shook her head. "No, no. I don't like her because she decided to tell Steve that she never loved him after getting too drunk at a party. I don't like her because..." she trailed off, "because I've been there for him since 7th grade and he... he fell in love with a girl who doesn't even care that she broke his heart. I've been there for him through everything and I... he'll never look at me like he looks at her."

Max's face grew a frown as she looked between Jenny and Steve.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Shut up," Max shook her head, "don't apologize, idiot."

A small smile grew on Jenny's face. She leaned her head against Max's shoulder.

The girls shot up from the ground when Jonathan and another car came into view. "Guys?" Max called. The car horn blared at them to jump out of the way. Jenny grabbed Max's arm and yanked her off to the side.

Jonathan's car drove past them while the police vehicle of Hopper slammed on its brakes in front of them. "Let's go." Hopper told them.

Steve opened the car door to let all of the kids in. He waved for Jenny to jump in before he himself jumped into the passenger. "Let's go!" Steve shouted as they drove away.

\---

ONCE THEY HAD GOTTEN BACK TO THE BYERS' HOUSEHOLD, EVERYONE GATHERED AROUND THE KITCHEN TABLE. Everyone except Jonathan and Nancy who stayed next to Will's sleeping body on the couch.

Steve glanced watched Jenny listen to Max's stories of California with a smile on his face. The two girls had quickly begun to form a sisterly bond. It still amazed him how Jenny could do that; get everyone to love her within minutes of meeting her.

Hopper yelled at someone on the landline. It made it impossible for anyone to even hear their thoughts in the house.

Steve plopped down onto a chair at the table next to Jenny. He leaned his head against her shoulder as his eyes slowly closed in exhaustion. A small smile grew on his face as Jenny's hand rubbed circles on his back all while she listened to Max.

"They didn't believe you, did they?" Dustin asked as Hopper hung the phone up.

"We'll see." He answered as he turned to the group of young kids.

"We'll see?" Mike snapped. "We can't just sit here while those things are loose!"

"We stay here and we wait for help." Hopper instructed them.

Mike scoffed and leaned back in the chair. Steve pushed himself out of his chair and approached the kitchen sink, leaning against it as he watched Nancy rub Jonathan's shoulder. "Mike," Jenny gently called, "what happened at the hospital?"

"Will, he... he's a spy. He killed soldiers." It was obvious that the young boy was distraught and tired and scared. "He almost got us killed. That's not Will, not my Will."

Jenny leaned over and grabbed his hand. She squeezed it reassuringly. "We'll get him back. I promise."

Mike's eyes looked up to meet hers. He slowly nodded, believing the girl's words. Steve watched the encounter happen. Every second that passed as he watched Jenny comfort the kids one by one, he fell more in love with her. He glanced between Jenny and Nancy. The two girls were different yet similar.

Nancy cared for the kids, but loved Mike the most. Jenny was the same, putting Dustin above all, but cared for the kids immensely. While Nancy would normally rather hang out with another teenager, Jenny loved hanging out with the kids. Jenny made him feel important and special and smart and wanted and loved. Loved, that was something he hadn't felt since before Halloween.

Mike pushed himself out of the chair and entered the living room. He stared at the blue cube on the table as a sorrowful expression crossed his face. "Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins A.V.?"

"Really?" Lucas asked.

"He petitioned the school to start it and everything." Mike spoke as he spun around. "Then he had a fundraiser for equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him."

Jenny gave a sad smile as she looked at Lucas and Dustin. They stared at their hands in sadness as they all realized that Bob was no longer alive.

"Pretty awesome, right?" Mike asked.

"Super dope." Jenny smiled.

Mike set the blue cube down onto the kitchen table. "We can't let him die in vain."

"What do you want to do, Mike?" Dustin asked. "We can't stop those Demodogs on our own."

"Demodogs?" Max asked.

"Demogorgon," Dustin began to explain, "dogs, Demodogs. It's like a compound. A play on words-"

"Okay!" Max snapped, forcing Dustin to be silent and sulk.

Both Jenny and Steve made eye contact as the young boy fell silent. "I think it's pretty fuckin' clever, Dustin." Jenny told her younger brother, who slightly perked up at the statement.

"I mean, when it was just Dart, maybe." Dustin told Mike.

"But there's an army, now." Lucas added.

"Precisely," Dustin nodded.

"His army," Mike spoke.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"His army! Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too."

All of them stood up and followed Mike to Will's bedroom. He grabbed one of Will's drawings and held it up to them. "The shadow monster." Dustin mumbled.

"It got Will the day in the field." Mike explained. "The doctor said it was like a virus. It infected him."

Max's eyebrows furrowed. "And so this virus, it's connecting him to the tunnel?"

"To the tunnels, to the monsters, to the Upside Down, to everything!" Mike spoke quickly.

"Whoa, slow down," Steve shook his head, "slow down."

"Okay, so," Mike began explaining to him, "if the shadow monster's inside everything, and if the vines can feel pain, then so does Will!"

"And so does Dart." Lucas concluded.

"It's like what Mr. Clarke taught us: the hive mind."

"Hive mind?" Steve asked as his eyebrows furrowed.

"A collective consciousness," both Henderson siblings spoke in unison. "It's a super organism." Dustin finished.

"This is the thing that controls everything." Mike pointed at the drawing. "It's the brain."

"Like the Mind Flayer." Dustin's eyes widened.

Lucas snapped his fingers in realization. Both Max and Steve looked around in confusion.

Jenny smiled and darted out of the room. She grabbed the large book of Dungeons and Dragons and set it on the kitchen table as everyone gathered around. "The Mind Flayer," she smiled.

"The hell is that?" Hopper asked in an exhausted and annoyed tone.

"It's a monster from an unknown dimension. It's so ancient that it doesn't even know it's true home." Jenny explained with a clear knowledge that made Steve smile. "It enslaves races of other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly developed psionic powers."

"Oh, my god," Hopper mumbled, "none of this is real. This is a kid's game."

"No, it's a manual." Dustin snapped in defense of his sister. "And it's not for kids and unless you know something that we don't, this is the best metaphor-"

"Analogy." Lucas interrupted.

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Analogy. That's what you're worried about?! Fine! Analogy for understanding what the hell this is."

"Okay, so," Nancy interjected, "this Mind Slayer thing-"

"Flayer." Jenny sharply corrected, instantly regretting her tone.

"What does it want?" She asked.

"To conquer us, basically." Jenny answered. "It believes it's the master race."

"Like the Germans." Steve commented proudly.

Jenny formed a small smile. "Like the Nazis, yes. I mean, if the Nazis were from another dimension. It views other races, like us, as inferior to itself."

"It wants to spread and take over other dimensions." Mike interjected.

"We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it." Lucas spoke strongly.

"That's great." Steve mumbled. "That's really great." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay, so," Nancy began, "this thing is, like, a brain controlling everything. Then, if we kill it..."

"We kill everything it controls." Mike finished.

"We win."

"Theoretically."


	21. the prodigal daughter

"WE KNOW IT'S ALREADY KILLED EVERYTHING IN THAT LAB." Mike shouted at Hopper.

"And we know the monsters are gonna molt again." Lucas added.

"And we know it's only a matter of time before the tunnels reach this town." Dustin argued.

"They're right," a scratchy voice called from the entrance of the kitchen. Everyone turned to see the tired Joyce. "We have to kill it. I want to kill it."

Hopper approached her. "Me too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don't exactly know what we're dealing with here."

"No," Mike grabbed their attention, "but he does." He looked over at an unconscious Will. "If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it's Will. He's connected to it. He'll know it's weakness."

"I thought we couldn't trust him anymore." Max commented. "That he's a spy for the the Mind Flayer now."

"Yeah, but he can't spy if he doesn't know where he is."

Mike and Hopper left the house to go to the backyard. Jenny leaned against the wall of the entrance into the kitchen. She rubbed the exhaustion out of her brown eyes. "Jen," Lucas called, "are you okay?"

A small smile grew on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just sleepy, I guess."

The young boy approached her and began to talk quietly. "Sorry I ruined your moment with Steve earlier."

"Moment?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"On the train tracks. Dustin told me that you two were trying to have a moment and I just... I feel bad."

Jenny pulled Lucas into a tight hug. "Don't ever apologize to me, Lucas. You have nothing to be sorry for." She pressed a kiss to the side of his head. "I should probably go help them set the shed up." She pulled away from the hug and looked at the group of kids. "Don't go anywhere without letting me know, okay?" They all nodded.

Jenny entered the shed where Steve and Nancy were covering the windows. "Do you guys need any help?" She asked in her quiet voice.

"Oh, uh..." Steve looked around before shaking his head. "Not that I can think of. How are the kids?"

"They're as fine as they can be." She offered him a small smile. "Well, if there's nothing I can do to help, I guess I'll go back to the kids."

Steve nodded, giving her a smile before returning to his work. Once Jenny was out of earshot, Nancy spoke up. "So, you and Jen, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"You've always liked her, Steve. You don't have to hide it now."

"She's my best friend, Nancy."

"You love her."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Well, what you did, helping the kids, that was... really cool."

Steve nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled, "little shits are real trouble, y'know."

"Believe me. I think Jenny knows that more than anyone."

"Yeah, she really loves them." Steve smiled.

Jenny chuckled as she retold Max about how Mike and Dustin used to make bargains with her over items in their lunch bags. "How long have all of you guys been friends?"

"I think all of the boys met in kindergarten or first grade, I can't really remember." Jenny shrugged. "But the first time they all came over, they were in second grade, they asked me if I had any board games they could play. We all sat in my room playing charades. Ever since then, I've been close to the boys."

Max smiled sadly. "I wish I had a sister like you."

"I am your sister now, kid. Whether you like it or not."

Max's smile grew more happy as she nodded. "I'm gonna help Mike in the kitchen." Jenny nodded. The redhead left Jenny alone in the living room.

\---

ALL SIX OF THEM PILED INTO THE SHED, COVERING THE WALLS AND CEILING WITH PAPER, CARDBOARD, TINFOIL, AND CURTAINS. Jonathan entered the shed, carrying Will in his arms and setting him down in a chair against a pole. Everyone except Hopper, Jonathan, Joyce, and Mike exited the shed.

Dustin watched out the kitchen window. He pulled his hat off and ran a hand through his curls as he approached the kitchen table. Steve stood in the middle of the living room, swinging his bat haphazardly. Jenny rolled her eyes at the danger he was putting people in by doing that.

The lights began blinking, putting everyone on edge. Jenny sat on the couch as everyone crowded around the kitchen window that faced the backyard. From what Mike had said, Will's condition was severe. She expected the lights to be flickering for quite sometime before they would get anywhere.

After a few more minutes, Hopper suddenly burst into the house. He grabbed a piece of paper and a marker and sat at the kitchen table. "What happened?" Dustin asked.

"I think he's talking to us," Hopper began scribbling Morse code onto the paper, "just not with words."

"What is that?" Steve asked.

"Morse code." Everyone answered in unison. He visibly sunk back ever so slightly at that. Jenny gently rubbed his back, offering him a smile.

The code spelt out 'here.' "Will's still in there." Hopper set the pen down. "He's talking to us."

Jonathan, Joyce, Mike, and Hopper went back outside. Steve held a radio and told Dustin what symbols of the code to write down while Lucas translated it. Nancy wrote down the letters that Lucas told them.

Once the last letter was given, they all gathered around to see 'CLOSE GATE.' The landline began ringing loudly. Everyone's eyes widened as Dustin ran to the phone. "Shit! Shit!" He shouted before hanging the phone up.

As it began ringing again, Nancy ripped the phone out and threw it onto the ground. "Do you think he heard that?" Max asked.

"It's just a phone," Steve shrugged, "it could be anywhere, right?"

"Yeah, but that's his phone. A noise he knows." Jenny commented.

Loud howling filled every single one of them with pure dread. They all gathered into the living room. Steve gripped his baseball bat tightly as he gently pushed Jenny behind him. "That's not good," Dustin mumbled.

Joyce, Jonathan carrying Will, Mike, and Hopper burst into the house once again. Hopper loaded a rifle and grabbed an assault rifle. Jenny stiffened at the sight of the guns. "Get away from the windows!" He shouted at the kids.

He turned to Jonathan and held up the rifle. "You know how to use this?"

When Jonathan hesitated, Nancy stepped up. "I do." She answered. Hopper tossed the gun towards her. They all aimed towards the front of the house. Lucas held up his slingshot, protecting Max who was standing behind him. Jenny stood behind Steve, who gripped his bat so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

A loud growl from the left side of the house startled everyone. They all turned towards the sound. "What are they doing?" Nancy asked.

Another loud growl came from the front of the house, grabbing everyone's attention. Loud crashes and screeches put everyone on edge. A squeal of pain could be heard before one of the monsters bashed through the window and onto the living room floor. Everyone backed away from it.

Jenny's eyes widened to see that it was already dead. "It's dead." She commented. After the comment was made, she cringed at how stupid she sounded. Obviously it's dead.

"Holy shit," Dustin mumbled. Hopper kicked it with his foot to reveal that it was truly dead.

The squeak of a door grabbed everyone's attention as they turned to the front door. The lock turned, startling everyone. Hopper and Nancy raised their guns, Steve gripped his bat, and Lucas raised his slingshot.

The front door slowly opened. It wasn't a Demodog or a Mind Flayer. It wasn't a monster. It was a familiar sight. A pair of white Chucks were the first thing to set foot into the house. Jenny's hand reached up to cover her mouth.

What came through the door felt like pure happiness. It was the bald girl who so happened to be a Jedi. It was the prodigal daughter: Eleven.


	22. momma henderson

TEARS FILLED HER EYES AS THE SLIM ARMS OF ELEVEN WRAPPED AROUND HER WAIST. She pulled her tightly against her body and held her close. She pressed a kiss to the top of Eleven's head. "You have hair," she let out a chuckle as she cupped Eleven's face in her hands, "you're not my bald jedi anymore." Her thumb wipes away the blood that dripped down her nose.

Eleven gave the teenager a wide toothy smile before pulling her into another tight hug. Dustin and Lucas lined up behind Jenny, waiting for their hugs. Bright smiles lined their faces as they practically bounced on their feet. Jenny pulled away from the hug and moved to the right to let Eleven see the two giddy boys. "El!" Dustin shouted with a large smile. "We missed you."

"I missed you, too." Her voice was quiet as she pulled both boys into a hug.

"We talked about you almost every day." Dustin squeezed her tightly. They all pulled back away from the hug. Eleven stared at Dustin as he eyebrows furrowed. Her thumb reached up and jabbed into his mouth, knocking against his upper teeth. He recoiled back in surprise. "Teeth," she mumbled.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You have teeth," she mumbled again.

Both Dustin and Lucas laughed as they looked at one another. "You like these pearls?" Dustin asked before making his tiger growl. Jenny rolled her eyes with a smile while Eleven furrowed her eyebrows.

"Eleven?" Max asked. She slowly approached the girl and stuck out her hand. "Hey, um... I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you."

As if she had seen through her, Eleven passed her up without any recognition, and approached Joyce. The mother quickly pulled the young girl into a tight embrace. "Hey, sweetheart," Joyce mumbled against Eleven's shoulder.

Jenny approached a disheartened Max. "It's okay. It took her some time to warm up to all of us. She's wary of people she doesn't know." She whispered to the redhead.

"Can I see him?" Eleven quietly asked Joyce. The older woman sadly sighed before nodding. She led the girl to Will's bedroom.

"Who the hell was that?" Steve asked the room as soon as Eleven was out.

"Eleven. She's uh..." Jenny trailed off.

"She's a government experiment and she's pretty much a jedi." Dustin finished for his sister.

"A jedi?"

"Y'know, the Force-" Dustin began explaining.

"I know what the Force is." Steve interrupted. He ran a hand through his hair and set his bat against the couch. With a sigh, he plopped down onto the couch and rubbed the exhaustion out of his eyes. "So, how do you all know her?"

"The boys found her in the woods while looking for Will," Jenny whipped around to look at Dustin and Lucas, "without permission, might I add."

"You might," Dustin nodded as he gestured towards her.

Eleven walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Jenny leaned against the door frame of the kitchen and watched the scene unfold. Dustin, Steve, Mike, Lucas, and Max all gathered around to listen to Joyce and Eleven's conversation.

"You opened this gate before, right?" Joyce asked.

Eleven nodded.

"Well, would you be able to close it?"

\---

"IT'S NOT LIKE IT WAS BEFORE," Hopper told the group, mainly Eleven, as he leaned against the sink, "it's grown. That's considering we could get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demodogs." Dustin mumbled.

All eyes were on him. "I'm sorry, what?" Hopper asked.

"I said Demodogs. Like Demogorgon and dog. You just, like, put 'em together and it's pretty badass-"

"How is this important right now?" Hopper snapped in frustration.

"It's not. I'm sorry." Dustin turned back towards the table. Jenny gave him a small smile and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. She pulled him against her side and leaned her head on top of his.

"I can do it," Eleven spoke up. All eyes turned to her.

"You're not hearing me-" Hopper started.

"I'm hearing you." Eleven interrupted. "I can do it."

"Even if El can, there's still another problem," Mike spoke, "if the brain dies, the body dies."

Max furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought that was the whole point."

"It is, but if we're really right about this - I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayer's army-"

"Will's a part of that army." Lucas finished.

Mike nodded. His expression was serious and somber. "Closing the gate will kill him."

Joyce's eyes widened. She stared at her hands on the table, wishing that everything could just be normal. She looked up at Mike before standing up and walking into the hall. Everyone followed her to Will's room. She looks towards the open window that had a chilly breeze blowing in. "He likes it cold," she muttered.

"What?" Hopper asked.

"That's what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold." She nodded and approached the window, slamming it shut. "We keep giving it what it wants."

"If this is a virus," Nancy spoke up, "and Will's the host, then..."

"We need to make the host uninhabitable." Jonathan finished as he stared at his unconscious younger brother.

"So, if he likes it cold,"

"Then we need to burn it out of him." Joyce glared.

"We have to take him somewhere he doesn't know this time." Mike stated.

Dustin agreed with a nod. "Somewhere far away."

"I know where," Hopper spoke. He grabbed Jonathan's sleeve and told him to start the car. The police chief wrapped Will up in a thick blanket and picked him up over his shoulder, carrying him out of the house.

Joyce ran to follow the two boys. "Jen," she stopped at the front door to speak to the teenage girl, "please watch the kids-"

"You don't even have to tell me," she gave a soft smile. "Good luck. Bring your boy back." With tears in their eyes, the two women embraced. Joyce pressed a kiss to the side of Jenny's head.

As soon as Joyce had left, Jenny turned and noticed someone missing. Actually, she noticed two people missing. Her heart sunk as she noticed it was Nancy and Steve that were the two people missing from the house.

The teenager took a seat on the couch. Her thumb nail dug into her army green pants. Her other hand played with the hem of her white KISS t-shirt. Max quietly entered the living room, noticing the older Henderson had gone silent. "Are you okay?" She softly asked as she took a seat next to her.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just uh... just tired." Jenny shrugged.

"You didn't seem tired until Steve walked outside with Nancy."

Jenny clenched her jaw tightly. She internally scolded herself for even thinking that Steve liked her. She should've known his heart would always be with Nancy. "Funny how things work out like that." Jenny shrugged.

Max leaned her head against Jenny's shoulder. "I'm glad I met you, Jen."

"I'm glad I met you, too, Max."


	23. parents of four chaotic children

"I MAY BE A PRETTY SHITTY BOYFRIEND," Steve mumbled as he grabbed an old, broken heater off of the lawn, "but turns out, I'm a pretty damn good babysitter." He gives a half smile to Nancy and hands her the toaster.

"Steve," Nancy whispered. The two made eye contact and held it. The bond between them had been broken and the two knew there was no possible way of repairing it.

"It's okay, Nance."

"You're not a shitty boyfriend. Jen is so lucky to have you." Nancy smiled. Her hand rested on his shoulder. "God knows she'll appreciate you more than I did."

With that, Nancy continued rummaging through the trash pile. Steve stared off at nothing, thinking on Nancy's words. It seemed like everyone he spoke to brought up, in some form or another, that he and Jenny should date. She was his best friend, though... right?

"Just be careful, alright?" Jenny listened to Mike speak to Eleven with such care and compassion. Young love, she smiled at the thought. "I don't want to lose you again."

Eleven shook her head. "You won't lose me."

"Do you promise?" Mike asked as a tear fell down his cheek. It left a trail of salty water on his face.

"Promise." Eleven whispered. The two began leaning in. As their lips neared, a voice caught them off guard. "El," Hopper called, "c'mon, let's go."

Jenny rolled her eyes at the police chief. "You can't leave without giving me a hug." She told the young girl. Eleven smiled and approached her, tightly wrapping her arms around Jenny's waist. "You are going to do amazing things and you're going to come back to us and you're gonna live until you're 118 and in a rocking chair. You hear me? And we're all gonna be right there with you. I'm proud of you and I love you." Jenny pressed a long kiss on top of Eleven's head before hesitantly letting go.

"It's time." Hopper called out.

Eleven looked between Mike and Jenny. Mike nodded his head and both of them gave her a look of faith. She sighed before turning and hopping into the car.

Nancy and Jonathan climbed into Jonathan's car right next to Hopper's. Both cars backed out of the driveway and drove off. Jenny loosely wrapped her arm around Mike's shoulders. "She's gonna be okay, Mike. She lived through last year at the school and she'll live through this."

"What if she doesn't?" He roughly wiped away the tears that formed in his eyes.

"She will." Jenny squeezed his shoulder before turning them towards the house. "Let's go back in before we die of hypothermia."

\---

"WHY DIDN'T YOU GO WITH NANCY AND JONATHAN?" Jenny asked Steve when she noticed that he was alone in the living room while the kids sat at the kitchen table.

"Are you serious?" Steve furrowed his eyebrows. One arm rested on the arm rest of the couch while the other rested on his knee that bounced nervously. "This is... this is where I belong."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I feel... like I belong here," he shrugged, "with the kids and with... you."

A smile grew on Jenny's face as she stared at Steve. She bit her bottom lip before reaching out and grabbing his hand that rested on his knee. Her thumb gently rubbed against his knuckles. "Why do you have a dish towel on your shoulder? You look like a mom."

He let out a chuckle. "Maybe I am a mom, a mom to all these little shits."

"Well, looks like I'm the dad then." Jenny giggled as she sat back and curled into his side. His arm draped itself over her shoulder. Steve pressed his cheek against the top of her head.

As soon as Jenny heard the loud clatter in the kitchen, she jumped up and ran in. An annoyed sighed escaped her lips as she watched Dustin throw the trays and contents of the Byers fridge into the ground. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Jen! Perfect. I need your help." Dustin smiled widely. "Look, that dead Demodog is a perfect specimen. We can take it to Mr. Clarke and show him!"

"Okay?"

"I need to preserve his body from decay so I need to put him in this fridge."

Jenny slapped her hand onto her face. "You're kidding." With another sigh, she entered the living room once again and began rolling up the corpse of the Demodog.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked with a laugh.

"Dustin." That was all she needed to say before watching him stand up and help her. Steve picked the body up and carried it into the kitchen.

"It should fit now." Dustin pointed at the fridge.

Steve stared at Dustin with an incredulous look. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes! This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery! You can't just bury it like some common mammal." Dustin argued. "It's not a dog!"

"Alright," Steve mumbled. He began carrying it towards the fridge. "You're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?"

Jenny and Dustin giggled as they watched Steve try to stuff the monster into the tiny fridge. "Help me out." He told the two siblings.

"What are we supposed to do?" Jenny asked as she held back laughter.

"Get the door."

After he finally got the corpse stuffed into the fridge, they slammed the fridge door shut. "Goddamn!" Dustin shouted. Steve let out a huff of air as he rubbed Dustin's head through his hat. He reached up and pulled off the dish towel and began wiping the slime off of his hands.

"You weren't there, Lucas!" Mike exclaimed. "The place is crawling with those dogs!"

"Demodogs!" Dustin shouted.

"The chief will take care of her." Lucas reasoned.

"Like she needs protection." Max mumbled eliciting a smile from Jenny.

"Listen, dude, if the coach calls the play of the game, bottom line, you execute it, alright?" Steve spoke, confusing every single person in the room.

"Okay, first of all," Mike snapped, "this isn't some stupid sports game. And second, we're not even in the game, we're on the bench."

"Right- well... uh... so- my point is..." Steve stammered. All of the kids, including Jenny, stared at him expectantly. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench so uh... there's nothing we can do." He tossed the navy blue dish towel back over his shoulder.

"That's not entirely true," Dustin spoke up, "I mean, these Demodogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

"So, if we get their attention..." Lucas started.

"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab." Max finished.

"And clear a path to the gate." Mike nodded along.

Steve scoffed. "Yeah, and then we all die."

"That's one point of view." Jenny chuckled.

"No, that's not a point of view, Jen." Steve shook his head. "That's a fact."

Mike's eyes widened. He pushed past Dustin and Steve. "I got it!" He exclaimed. The entire group followed him into Will's bedroom.

Mike crouched and pointed to one of the spots on the many drawings Will had made. "This is where the chief dig his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So..." he bolted back up and ran back into the living room where all of the drawings met, "here, right here. This is like a hub. So you got all the tunnels feeding in here."

Him and the entire group except for Jenny and Steve crouched down. "Maybe if we set this on fire..."

"Oh, yeah? That's a no." Steve interrupted. He used his index finger to make his point harshly.

All of the kids ignored him and continued with their plan. "The Mind Flayer would call away his army." Dustin stated.

"They'd all come to stop us." Lucas exclaimed.

"Hey!" Steve called but was ignored again.

"We circle back to the exit." Mike nodded.

"Guys," Steve spoke once again in vain.

"By the time they realize we're gone-"

"El would be at the gate!" Jenny and Max spoke in unison.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Steve clapped and shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "This is not happening. I can't believe you're going along with this, Jen."

"They've got a solid plan, Steve."

"But-"

"No, no, no, no, no." Steve interrupted Mike. "No buts. Jen and I promised we'd keep you shitheads safe. And I will abide by that promise." He sent a small glare towards Jenny. The teenage girl crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "We're staying here, on the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?"

Max and Lucas rolled their eyes while Dustin and Mike stared at him with annoyance. "This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike exclaimed.

"I said does everybody understand that?" Steve ripped the dish towel off of his shoulder and pointed specifically at Mike. "I need a yes." All of the kids mumbled as yes. Steve turned to Jenny. "From everyone."

Jenny raised her eyebrow with attitude. "Yes, mom. God, you're such a fucking square, Harrington."

"I do it out of love." Jenny hummed in response, feeling as if she's heard this talk before. "I don't need you getting hurt."

The loud roar of an engine grabbed everyone's attention. "Who the fuck is that?" Jenny muttered as she approached the peep hole of the door. "Oh, fuck."

"What?" Steve asked, immediately approaching her.

"It's Billy."


	24. battle of kings

"AS IF THIS NIGHT COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE." Jenny mumbled. She groaned loudly and rubbed her face.

"He can't know I'm here." Max spoke in a rushed and panicked tone. "He'll kill me. He'll kill us."

Jenny and Steve shared a look of slight worry. Billy wasn't the most calm person nor did he seem very stable. He already didn't have a happy past with Steve and Jenny. "You guys stay in here." Steve told all of them.

"You're not going out there." Jenny grabbed his arm before he could reach the front door.

"Jen, stop worrying."

"Steven Andrew, don't poke the bear." Jenny warned him. "Tell him no one is here and make sure he leaves. Nothing less, nothing more."

"I got this." He smirked. "Believe in me."

"I'll never stop." She whispered before pressing a soft kiss on his left cheek. "Go get 'em, tiger."

Tires could be heard screeching outside as soon as Steve closed the front door. Jenny immediately looked out the peep hole to watch the situation transpire. The headlights shut off and the driver door swung open. A cocky and pissed off Billy Hargrove steps out of the blue Mustang. He takes a drag of his cigarette and smirks at the boy on the porch. "Am I dreaming or is that you, Harrington?" He called out.

"Yeah, it's me," Steve answered, "don't cream your pants."

Billy placed his cigarette between his lips and ripped off his leather jacket. Steve stepped off of the porch and approached the man. "What are you doing here, amigo?" Billy asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Steve and Billy met half way. An angry tension was between them. Steve still felt the anger he had from their last interaction when the two practically fought over the way Billy treated Jenny. "Amigo." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Looking for my step sister." Billy rested his left hand on his belt buckle. "A little birdie told me she was here."

"Huh, that's weird. I don't know her."

"Small? Redhead?" Billy questioned. "Bit of a bitch, kinda like your girlfriend. What was her name? Oh, yeah. Jennifer."

Steve clenched his jaw. "Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry, buddy."

Billy nodded as he took another long drag of his cigarette. "Y'know, I don't know. This... this whole situation, Harrington. I don't know." His hand hit against his thigh. He glared at Steve. "It's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"My 13 year old sister goes missing all day. And then I find her with you in a stranger's house." Billy took another drag, blowing the smoke into Steve's face. "And you lie to me about it."

Steve chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what?" The boys glared harshly at each other. Billy laughed as he blew out a puff of smoke. "I don't know what you don't understand about what I just said. She's not here."

Billy grew closer. He pointed his cigarette at the house. "Then who is that?"

Steve turned to see all of the kids gathered at the window. 'Son of a bitch, Jen. You couldn't keep them from the window?' He thought.

"Shit!" Dustin exclaimed, pulling Jenny's attention away from the peep hole. "Did he see us?"

"What did you idiots do?" Jenny snapped at them.

"Oh, shit." Steve mumbled. "Listen-" Billy shoved Steve to the ground. He landed on his side with a grunt.

"I told you to plant your feet." Billy slammed his foot into Steve.

As Jenny argued with Dustin, the door flung open with a loud bang. They all jumped up to see an angry Billy glaring at them all. "Well, well, well." He slammed the door shut and began approaching them. "Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise."

Jenny was quick to stand between him and the group of kids. "Don't even fucking think about it."

"Don't do what? What are you gonna do, Jennifer?" He scoffed as he looked her up and down. "Are you gonna fight me?"

"If I have to." She raised up her fists, telling herself that she was ready for whatever he brought her way.

He laughed at her mockingly. "You can't even form a fist. Have you ever even punched someone?"

"Billy, stop-" Max started.

"I told you to stay away from him, Max!" Billy snapped at the younger girl. "You disobeyed me. And you know what happens when you disobey me."

"Billy..."

"I break things." He quickly grabbed Lucas by the collar. Dustin started shouting. Jenny pushed the kids back before grabbing one of Will's baseball bats. She slammed the bat into Billy's back, causing him to drop Lucas. "You and Sinclair are so fucking dead!" He shouted at Jenny. Billy ripped the bat out of Jenny's hands before she could react. He balled his fist up and slammed it into her face, knocking her onto the kitchen floor.

Dustin ran to his sister's side. "Jenny! Oh, my god! Jen! Are you okay?!" He was to the point of tears as he noticed that her nose and lip were bleeding.

"You are so dead, Sinclair! You're dead!" Billy shouted at Lucas.

"No," a voice spoke from behind him, "you are." Billy turned only to be punched in the face by Steve Harrington.

Billy laughed like a madman when he looked back up at Steve. Dustin had finally gotten Jenny up off the ground. Her hearing was still ringing, making her dizzy and slightly nauseous. The group pulled her and Lucas closer. All of the kids hugged her tightly.

"Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? It just took me slapping around your bitch, didn't it?" Billy chuckled. "I've been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about."

Steve pressed two fingers to his chest, pushing him away. "Get out." He threatened. After a few seconds of silence, Billy threw a punch, which Steve dodged and countered with his own punch.

"Kick his ass, Steve!" Dustin shouted.

"Get him!" Mike shouted.

"Murder the son of a bitch!"

Jenny gripped Dustin's hoodie tightly as she watched the fight in worry. Steve managed to land four or five punches into Billy. "Steve, plate!" She shouted as she watched Billy grab one of the ceramic plates on the counter.

Steve had not heard her before Billy slammed the plate onto his head, shoving him back. Billy stomped up to him and slammed his fist into Steve's face. He grabbed Steve by the collar. "No one tells me what to do!" He slammed his forehead against Steve's, knocking him into the living room floor.

Billy crawled on top of him and began punching him over and over. Jenny ran up, kicking him in the side. "Don't touch him, you cunt!"

"You bitch!" He shouted. "I'll deal with you later." He grabbed her leg and pulled her to the ground.

She let out a loud cough before kicking him in the side again. Max watched as Jenny fight her step brother. She looked over and grabbed one of the morphine shots they had given Will. She grabbed the syringe and bolted over to Billy.

Jenny kicked Billy in the face, giving Max the perfect angle at Billy's neck. All of the boys flinched as they watched her jam the needle into his neck.

Billy stood up, syringe still in his neck. It felt like a horror movie as they watched him pull out the needle and stumble towards Max. "The hell is this? You little shit, what did you do?" He suddenly slammed onto the floor beneath him.

Jenny immediately pushed herself up and crawled over to the unconscious Steve. "Oh, shit. Steve, can you hear me? Steve, please be okay." Tears filled her eyes as she picked his head up and set it in her lap. Jenny used her white shirt to wipe away the blood that dripped from his nose and mouth.

Dustin frowned as he watched his sister sob. She held him tightly and sobbed into his hair.

Max grabbed Steve's nail-filled bat and held it up at Billy. "From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?"

"Screw you." Billy muttered.

Max slammed the bat into the floor in between Billy's legs. It was a little too close for comfort. "Say you understand! Say it! Say it!" She shouted.

"I understand." Billy mumbled.

"What?"

"I understand." He repeated louder. With that, he passed out.

The room was silent except for Jenny's sniffles and quiet sobs as she held Steve.


	25. bloody noses

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE." Max held up Billy's car keys. All of the boys rushed towards Jenny to help her pick Steve's unconscious body up from the floor and carry him out to the blue Mustang. She roughly wiped her tears away and piled into the car. "Don't worry," Max whispered to Jenny, "he'll be okay."

Jenny nodded and climbed into the driver's seat. Max tossed the keys into Jenny's hands as she climbed into the passenger. The older teenager handed her younger brother an ice pack. "Hold that onto Steve's face, please."

He nodded and held an ice pack to Steve's head that rested in the seat next to him. His head slowly moved as he finally came to. His eyes barely opened to look up at Mike holding a gas can. "Nancy?" He mumbled. Jenny's heart slightly sank at the first name he spoke.

Mike furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed Steve looking at him.

"Where's Jen?" Steve opened his eyes more to see Dustin holding an ice pack to his face. "Oh, hey there."

A smile grew on Jenny's face. He groaned in pain and reached up to touch his face. "Don't touch it." Both Dustin and Jenny grabbed his hand to stop him from touching his bruised and battered face.

His eyes focused in on Jenny's face to see large bruises covering her nose and cheek. He shot up, wincing at the pain and turned to Jenny. "Oh, my god. He hit you? Jen, I am so so-"

"Steve, calm down. You're gonna start bleeding again. I've already cleaned up enough of your stupid blood."

He looked down to see a huge blood stain on her white shirt. His eyebrows furrowed as he realized they were in a car.

"You're gonna keep straight for a half a mile then make a left on Mount Sinai." Lucas could be heard giving directions from the back seat.

Steve looked to the driver seat to see Jenny clutching the steering wheel. "What's going on?" He asked. "Oh, my god!" He shouted as he looked out the windshield to see a dirt road.

"Just relax." Dustin told him.

"Oh, my god!" Steve exclaimed again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop the car!" He shouted.

"Steve!" Jenny shouted, silencing the boy. "Shut up!"

The exclamation elicited a quiet laugh from Max. Steve groaned in fear and pain as he rested his head against the seat.

"Make a left!" Lucas shouted.

The car slammed into a mail box before jerking to the left. Max and Steve screamed loudly as the car swerved every which way. They slammed to a stop in front of the spot where Hopper had dug a hole into the tunnels.

"Whoa!" Dustin laughed.

"Incredible." Mike mumbled.

Steve practically fell out as Mike and Dustin ran to the trunk. He groaned loudly. Jenny rolled her eyes and gently helped him off the ground. "Guys," he slurred, "oh no, guys. Hey, where do you think you're going?" He asked Mike who began walking towards the hole. "What are you, deaf? Hello!" He shouted.

"Steve, I'm gonna say this as nicely as possible," Jenny told her best friend, "shut the fuck up and let them work."

He shook his head in disagreement. "We are not going down there right now. I made myself clear." Max walked past him to the front of the car with Mike. "Hey, there's no chance we're going to that hole, all right? This ends right now!" He stomped to the trunk and ripped the items out of Dustin's hands.

"Steve! You're upset, I get it. But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance," Dustin's voice was muffled through the bandana covering his mouth, "and it is our duty to provide that assistance."

Jenny walked to the trunk and began putting on a baby blue bandana and swimming goggles that covered her nose.

"I know you promised Jen and Nance you would keep us safe. But Jenny is here, too. She won't let anything happen to us. Okay? Trust her for once in your goddamn life. Listen to her." Dustin grabbed the backpack with Steve's bat inside. "Keep us safe with her."

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his tangled hair. He grabbed the bag and put on a bandana and goggles.

"C'mon, grandpa. Time to start livin'." Jenny chuckled as she followed Dustin to the hole.

Steve jumped in last. His eyes widened as he looked around the tunnel. "Holy shit," he whispered.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's this way!" Mike called to the group.

"You're pretty sure or you're certain?" Dustin asked.

"I'm 100 percent sure! Just follow me and you'll know!" Mike exclaimed.

As he began to lead the way, Steve stopped him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey. I don't think so."

"What?" Mike asked.

"Any of you little shits die down here, Jen and I are getting the blame. Got it, dipshit?" He grabbed the map out of Mike's hands. "From here on out, I'm leading the way. Come on, let's go."

Max gripped Jenny's hand tightly. She was nervous. The adrenaline from dealing with Billy and the car ride had finally worn out and now she was nervous and didn't feel invincible. Jenny's grip tightened on her hand to reassure her that she was there and wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon.


	26. near death

THEY FINALLY HALTED TO A STOP WHEN THEY CAME UPON A FORK IN THE TUNNEL. They all internally sighed, already lost and confused. "Well, which way is the right way, cartographer?" Jenny sarcastically asked Steve.

"God," Lucas mumbled as he looked around.

"What is this place?" Max asked. Her hand was still firmly tangled with Jenny's.

"Uh... looks like we go this way." Steve pointed into one of the tunnels. "Guys, c'mon. Keep moving."

After only a few seconds of moving, the sound of Dustin screaming stopped everyone. Jenny's heart dropped as she let go of Max's hand and took off running towards the sound. She ran back to the main area to see Dustin on the ground, screaming. "Dustin!" She shouted and fell to her knees next to him. "Are you okay?"

Dustin lifted up and pulled Jenny into a tight embrace. "It's in my mouth! Jen, it's in my mouth!" He began coughing violently, trying to get out whatever was floating in the air.

"You're okay, Dust. If Hopper can survive it, you can too." Jenny rubbed his back soothingly as he spit onto the ground.

"I'm okay." He nodded.

"Are you serious?" Max mumbled.

"Very funny, man." Steve rolled his eyes.

"What an idiot." Max mumbled as the group turned and walked away.

"C'mon, Dust. Let's go." Jenny smiled at her brother.

"I really thought I was a goner." Dustin muttered as they followed the group.

"I did, too, bud."

The group walked through the winding tunnels that seemed to go in circles. They stopped. "Alright, Wheeler," Steve spoke, "I think we found your hub."

The large circular area held many paths to many tunnels with a large... thing in the middle. "Let's drench it." Mike told the group.

They all got out their spray guns filled with gasoline. The entire group sprayed every inch of the section with the gas. After they finally covered every inch of the place, the group went far enough away and crouched down.

"Light her up," Dustin told Steve.

The older boy flipped open his lighter. "I am in such deep shit," he mumbled before lighting the lighter and tossing it into the room. The entire area lit up in a matter of seconds. All of them shielded themselves from the extreme heat of the fire. "Go, go, go!" Steve shouted at them.

"Let's go!" Dustin shouted. Jenny began running ahead while Steve stayed in the back. If anything came at the group from behind or from ahead, the kids were protected. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god." Both Dustin and Jenny mumbled to themselves as the entire group ran through the tunnels.

Steve kept checking the hand drawn map as they ran through the confusing tunnels. "This way!" He shouted at the group. Mike tripped as something gripped his ankle tightly. "Help!" He shouted.

Jenny, who had been shifted to the back, stomped forcefully onto the tentacle that held Mike. A faint squealing could be heard as the tentacle receded away from Mike. She picked the boy up and held his head in her hands. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mike nodded as he tried to catch his breath. "Thanks, Jen."

"C'mon, kid, we gotta go." She grabbed his hand. She stopped when a loud roar came from right behind her. The rest of the group finally made it back to her and Mike. They all stopped in their tracks at the sight of a Demodog.

"Dart." Dustin spoke with confidence and authority.

Steve's arm slowly pushed Jenny and Mike behind him as he readied his bat. As Dustin began to near the creature, everyone told him to stay back. "Dustin, don't!" Jenny shouted.

"Trust me, please!" He shouted back at her. The entire group fell silent as they watched him. "Hey, it's me. It's just your friend, it's Dustin. It's Dustin, alright? You remember me?" He smiled as he kneeled down. Dart slowly approached him. "Will you let us pass?"

Dart snarled loudly at him. Jenny took two steps closer but stopped when Dustin rolled his eyes and continued talking.

"Okay, I'm sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douchey thing to do." He chuckled. "You hungry? Yeah?" He reaches into his backpack to pull out a Three Musketeers bar.

"He's insane." Lucas whispered.

Everyone shushed him from talking.

"I've got our favorite. See? Nougat." Dustin smiled as he opened the chocolate bar. Dart stepped closer. "Look at that. Yummy. Here, alright?" He set the chocolate bar on the ground in front of Dart. "Eat up, buddy. C'mon. C'mon." He never looked away as he waved the entire group to walk past him.

Everyone silently passed. "There's plenty. I've got more." Dustin told Dart. He set down another chocolate bar and looked up to see Jenny waiting behind Dart for him. He passed Dart and looked at him with a sad expression. "Goodbye, buddy."

With that, he turned and followed the group to find the exit.

\---

"LET'S GO!" Dustin shouted as they all ran through the tunnels. Everyone stopped as the tunnel began to shake, knocking Max and Dustin onto the ground. Jenny grabbed their hands and helped them stand up. Loud roaring could be heard echoing through the tunnels.

"What was that?" Max asked.

They all spun around to hear the roar grow closer. "They're coming." Mike muttered. "Run! Run!" The entire group took off running.

Steve led the group while Jenny stayed in the back. When they finally saw the rope, they nearly rejoiced. Steve clenched his hands together to help each of the kids up onto the rope. Max, Lucas, and Mike made it out before another loud roar, this time even closer, echoed through the tunnel.

"Dustin, c'mon!" Jenny shouted. Steve readied his bat for anything coming their way. Jenny pushed Dustin behind her, making her and Steve the forefront. Both her and Steve shared a look before turning back to the shadows of the Demodogs.

Dustin turned away to shield himself from the attack.

All of their eyebrows furrowed and their hearts raced as the Demodogs ran past them. Jenny grabbed Dustin and held him close to stay as far out of the creatures way as they could.

"Eleven." Mike mumbled.

Steve hoisted Dustin up to the rope before turning to Jenny. "Your turn." She nodded and stepped onto his clenched hands. After she had gotten out of the hole, she held her hand out to him.

Once the group was finally out of the hole, the lights on the car flickered on. They were extremely bright, causing all of them to shield their eyes. After a few seconds, the lights shut off, leaving the group in the moonlight.

The kids approached the trunk, ripping off their goggles and bandanas. After taking off all of their stuff, they piled into the car. Max tossed Steve the car keys. "You can drive this time, Harrington." She smiled before climbing into the back seat.

Steve threw the backpack into the trunk before turning to Jenny. "Wild night, huh?" He slammed the trunk shut.

"Wish you had gone with Nancy and Jonathan?" She smirked.

A small smile spread on Steve's face. "Not at all." He grabbed her face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers. Jenny smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.

The sound of the kids cheering from the back seat made the two smile so wide that it was difficult to continue their kiss. "Jennifer Sue Henderson, I am so in love with you."

"You big-nosed idiot, I love you so much."


	27. tears and kisses

"SON OF A BITCH!" Dustin called out as he ran around the house. He looked anxious as he searched the kitchen.

"Where did you see it last?" His mother asked as she cradled a gray and black kitten.

"Right here, where I put it."

Jenny chuckled as she leaned against the door frame to the hallway.

"What's in there that's so important anyway?" Their mother asked. "You look fabulous, baby."

Dustin grabbed a brown paper bag that was sitting behind a box of cereal. A smile grew on his face. "Got it!" He quickly bolted to his bedroom, Jenny not far behind.

The doorbell rang. "That's your ride, Dusty!" Their mother called.

Jenny poked her head in. "He's here?" She ran towards the door and took a deep breath. She flattened the long sleeved lavender dress before opening the door. "Well, hello Mr, Harrington." She greeted with a smirk.

"Hello, Ms. Henderson." He grinned widely at her. "You look gorgeous."

Jenny grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house. He closed the door shut as he followed her to Dustin's room. "He's using the damn spray." She chuckled.

"Good man, he leaned from the best." Steve laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They approached his bed room. "Hey, kid, c'mon. We got to go." Steve called as he knocked on the door.

The door flung open and Jenny's eyes widened. "Oh, wow." She stared at his tall hair that nearly resembled Steve's but more curly. "Holy shit, Dust. You look sharp as hell. A real stud, I mean if you weren't my brother-"

"Hey! I'm still here." Steve smiled as he watched Dustin's eyes light up while also roll at the girl's compliment. "You ready to go?" He asked both of them.

"Oh... you're not driving me." Jenny told Steve. His eyebrows furrowed. "I uh... I promised someone I'd help them get ready." She pressed her index finger to her lips in a mischievous smile. "But I will definitely be there." She pressed a kiss to Steve's lips.

Steve wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. While it made Dustin happy to see his sister so joyful, it made him cringe to watch them practically make out. He rolled his eyes and slammed his door shut to the give the teens their privacy. "Who are you meeting?" Steve asked. "C'mon, you can tell me." His brown, puppy dog eyes nearly begged for her to give in.

Jenny giggled and rolled her eyes. She shook her head before pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Okay, I really need to go or I'm gonna make her late."

"Ah-ha! It's a she!" Steve exclaimed with glee.

She let out a laugh before pressing a final kiss to his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Steve smiled as he peppered her face with little kisses eliciting a giggle from her. "I'll see you at the dance."

"See ya."

\---

"OKAY, SO PURPLE OR PINK?" She asked.

"Purple." The young girl answered.

"Great choice." Jenny smiled and placed her eye shadow brush into the purple powder. Smiles covered both of the girl's faces, both content and comfortable in each other's presence. The bedroom was lit up by small white Christmas lights and the smell of Sunflowers perfume wafted through the air. "Alright, you need to close your eyes and it may be a little surprising when it first touches your eyelid, but try your best not to flinch."

Max slightly flinched when the brush made contact with her eyelid. "So much for that." She mumbled as a faint smile grew on Jenny's face. "Alright, turn around."

The red haired teenager spun around in the chair. A brush began detangling her hair and revealing the smooth beach waves. "Jen," the girl spoke as Jenny brushed her hair, "thanks for doing this. It really means a lot." There was a pure sincerity in Max's words that practically caused Jenny's heart to swell. She set the brush down and wrapped her arms around Max, pulling her into a tight hug.

After their quick hug, Jenny clipped a piece of Max's hair out of her face with a red barrette. "And we're done."

"How do I look?" Max asked as she looked in the vanity mirror.

"Stunning." Jenny grinned. "Lucas' gonna faint when he sees you."

A pale blush swallowed Max's cheeks.

"Let's head out. We're gonna be late if we take any longer." Max nodded and followed Jenny to her car.

\---

"YOU GO AHEAD. I'll be in there in a hot second." Jenny told Max. The girl was visibly nervous. "Hey, don't sweat it. You're gonna walk in there and knock 'em dead."

Max nodded. "Thank you, Jen." She wrapped her arms around Jenny's waist and pulled her into an embrace.

"No problem, sweetie." She pressed a kiss to the top of Max's head. "Now head in there and be amazing." Max nodded before hesitantly entering the school.

Jenny turned to see Steve leaning against his car. His eyes watched her with a smile. She approached him. "Hey Steve." She whispered.

"Hey Jen." He whispered back.

"Please tell me you gave Dustin actually good advice."

"I always give him good advice."

"'Girls like it when you pretend to not care' is good advice?" Jenny raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest. Steve winced. "Okay, maybe not that."

Jenny giggled and rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot, Steve Harrington." She grabbed his collar and pulled him into a deep kiss. In the moment, she didn't care if she messed up her lip gloss. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her as closely as he could.

"We should head inside." Jenny breathed as they pulled away from air. She giggled and wiped away the lip gloss that was smeared on his lips.

"Yeah," Steve breathlessly replied. The couple turned and entered the school.

Jenny smiled when she noticed Jane and Mike dancing as well as Lucas and Max. Her smile dropped when she saw no sign of her younger brother. Her heart dropped when she finally spotted him, tears falling down his cheeks as he sat alone on the bleachers.

Before she could make her way over, Nancy approached him. She watched as Dustin wiped away his tears and followed Nancy onto the dance floor. The two began slow dancing together. A small smile grew on her face. 'Thank you,' she mouthed when she made eye contact with Nancy.

"Would you do me the honor of this slow dance?" Steve asked Jenny.

Jenny rolled her eyes with a grin. She gripped his hand tightly as he pulled her onto the dance floor. Every Breath You Take by The Police played for every pre-teen to dance to.

"I love you, Jen." Steve smiled pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

"I love you, too, Steve."

( END OF PART TWO )


End file.
